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diff --git a/old/60535-0.txt b/old/60535-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7bdc75c..0000000 --- a/old/60535-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11695 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Woman Triumphant, by R. Cronau - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: Woman Triumphant - The story of her struggles for freedom, education and - political rights. Dedicated to all noble-minded women by - an appreciative member of the other sex. - -Author: R. Cronau - -Release Date: October 20, 2019 [EBook #60535] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMAN TRIUMPHANT *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was -produced from images made available by the HathiTrust -Digital Library.) - - - - - - - - - - WOMAN TRIUMPHANT -The Story of Her Struggles for Freedom, Education and Political Rights. - - - DEDICATED TO ALL NOBLE-MINDED WOMEN BY AN APPRECIATIVE MEMBER OF THE - OTHER SEX. - -[Illustration: _By R. Cronau_] - - Published by R. CRONAU - 340 East 198th Street, New York. - - - - - Copyright 1919 by R. CRONAU - New York. - - - - - WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. - - - =America, the History of Its Discovery.= 2 vols., with 545 - illustrations and 37 maps. (Leipzig 1890–92.) Award World’s - Columbian Exposition. - - =America, historia de su descubrimiento.= 3 vols., with several - hundred illustrations and maps. (Barcelona 1892.) Award World’s - Columbian Exposition. - - =From Wonderland to Wonderland, Sketches of American Life and - Scenery.= With 50 heliogravures. (Leipzig 1886.) - - =Through the Wild West=, Journeys of an Artist through the Prairies - and Rocky Mountains of America. Illustrated. (Braunschweig 1890.) - - =Travels in the Land of the Sioux Indians.= (Leipzig 1886.) - - =Our Wasteful Nation; the Story of American Prodigality and the Abuse - of Our National Resources.= Illustrated. (New York 1908.) - - =Three Centuries of German Life in the United States=, with 210 - illustrations. (Berlin 1909.) Award by the University of Chicago. - - =Illustrative Cloud Forms for the Guidance of Observers in the - Classification of Clouds.= (U. S. Publication No. 112. Washington, - D. C., 1897.) - - - SOON TO APPEAR: - - =In the Realm of Clouds and Gods.= Illustrated with 25 color-prints. - - =Three Great Questions in American History Answered.= With many maps - and illustrations - - - - - PREFACE. - - -Are you aware of the fact that you are living in the most important -period of human history? Not for the reason that a World’s War has been -fought and a “League of Nations” formed, but because all civilized -nations are beginning to acknowledge that women, who form the greater -part of the human race, are entitled to the same rights and recognition -as have heretofore been enjoyed by men only. The entry of woman into -industry, the professions, literature, science and art in modern times, -her participation in social and political life, mark the beginning of an -era of a significance, equal, if not greater, than when by the discovery -of America a New World was added to the old. - -Although it is a fact that man owes innumerable benefits to woman’s -care, devotion, and mental initiative, it is also true that through -egoism and self-conceit he has never appreciated woman’s work and -achievements at their full value. On the contrary: while she was giving -all and asking little, while she shared with man all hardships and -perils, she was for thousands of years without any rights, not even as -regards her own person and property. From ancient times up to the -present day she has been an object of rape and barter, and quite often, -for sexual purposes, held in the most horrible slavery. During the -Middle Ages innumerable women were persecuted for witchcraft, subjected -to the most cruel tortures, dragged to the scaffold to be beheaded, or -burnt alive at the stake. - -Woman’s status to-day is the result of her own energy, efforts and -ability. She overcame the prejudice and stubborn opposition of bigoted -priests, pedantic scholars and reactionary statesmen, who were unable to -see that the advance and emancipation of woman is synonymous with the -progress and liberation of the greater part of the entire human race. To -short sighted people such as these Tennyson directed his lines: - - “The Woman’s Cause is Man’s! They rise or sink together, - dwarf’d or godlike, bond or free; if she be small, - slight-natured, miserable, how shall men grow!” - -The book submitted here gives an account of woman’s evolution, of her -enduring and trying struggles for liberty, education, and recognition. -While this account will make every woman proud of the achievements of -her sex, man, by reading it, will become aware that it is his solemn -duty not only to protect woman from injustice, brutality and -exploitation, but to give her all possible assistance in her endeavors -to attain that position in which she will be man’s ideal consort and -friend. - - RUDOLPH CRONAU. - -[Illustration] - - - - - Women During the Remote Past. - - -[Illustration: - - ABORIGINAL HUTS AT THE AMAZON RIVER -] - - - PRIMEVAL MAN, HIS ORIGIN AND SEVERE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE. - -While we were young and credulous, black-robed theologians impressed -upon our minds their theory of creation, according to which the first -man was moulded by the divine author of all things in his own image and -placed in an enchanting paradise. Here he enjoyed with his mate, whom -the same deity formed from one of man’s ribs, a state of innocence, -bliss and happiness, since want, sickness, and death were as yet -unknown, and all animals lived together in peace and harmony. - -In later years, after we had become inquisitive, we found that this -story of creation is merely one of innumerable similar myths, invented -by aboriginal people when they began to ponder over their origin. We -also became acquainted with the theory of evolution, as taught by -Lamarck, Darwin, Haeckel, Huxley, Tylor, Lubbock, Osborn, and other -eminent anthropologists. And by investigating and comparing fossil facts -and living forms we became convinced that man was not specially created, -but gradually evolved from far lower animal forms. Furthermore, we -recognized that primitive man never enjoyed paradisical peace and -happiness, but was constantly compelled to a far more desperate struggle -for existence than any human beings had to carry on during later -periods. - -To realize the innumerable hardships and terrors of this battle is -almost beyond the power of imagination. Try to place yourself in the -situation of such naked and unarmed beings. Day in and out they were -persecuted by wild beasts, which in size as well as in strength and -ferocity far surpassed those of to-day. - -There were the terrible sabre-toothed tigers, whose enormous fangs hung -like daggers from their upper jaws. There were fierce lions and bears, -in comparison to which the present species would appear dwarfed. The -plains and forests were infested with bloodthirsty hyenas and wolves, -that hunted in packs and allowed no creature to escape which they were -able to cut off from its retreat. Ugly snakes, quick as lightning, -lurked in the underbrush and trees. The lakes and rivers were alive with -hideous alligators, that made every attempt to get a drink a hazardous -task. Even the skies were full of danger, as sharp-eyed eagles and -vultures circled about, ready to swoop on any living thing that might -expose itself to view. Awe-inspiring were also the immense mammoths, -elephants and rhinoceros, which with heavy tread broke through the dense -forests. - -In contrast to these powerful beasts man was not protected at all. -Indeed, his means of defense were so poor, that his survival strikes us -almost as an inconceivable wonder. Neither was he armed with strong -teeth, sharp claws, horns or poisonous stings. His body had no covering -but a very thin and vulnerable skin. To escape his many pursuers, he was -compelled to hide in almost inaccessible places, among the branches of -high trees, or in the crags and on top of towering cliffs. - -The never-ending struggle increased, when his kin multiplied and began -to split into various bands, tribes and races. With this separation -quarrels arose over the limits of the hunting grounds. Men began to -fight and kill their neighbors. Even worse, they slaughtered the -captives and devoured their flesh during cannibal feasts. - -[Illustration: - - AN APE-MAN -] - -In physical appearance primeval men were far from resembling those ideal -figures of Adam and Eve, pictured by mediæval artists who strove to give -an idea of the glories of our lost Paradise. While these products of -imagination can claim no greater authenticity than the illustrations to -other fairy tales, we nevertheless owe to the diligent works of able -scientists restorations of the figures of primeval men. These deserve -full credit, as they are based on skeletons and bones, found in caves, -which some hundred thousand years ago were inhabited by human-like -beings. From such remains it appears that our predecessors were near -relatives to the so-called man-apes, the orang outang, chimpanzee, -gibbon, and gorilla. Ages passed before these ape-men, in the slow -course of evolution, developed into man, distinctly human, though still -on a far lower level than any savage people of to-day. - -The ape-man probably knew no other shelter than nests of twigs and -leaves, similar to those constructed by the orang outang and the -gorilla. But with the gradual development of man’s brain and -intelligence he improved these nests to tree-huts like those still used -by certain aborigines of New Guinea, India, and Central Africa. To these -huts they retreated at night, to be safe from wild beasts, and also at -sudden attacks by superior enemies. - -[Illustration: - - TREE HUTS IN NEW GUINEA -] - -The cliff dwellings, abounding among the steep cañons of Colorado, New -Mexico and Arizona were similar retreats. Here we find thousands of -stone houses, many hidden at such places and so high above the rivers -that they can hardly be detected from below. In the cañon of the Rio -Mancos several cliff dwellings are 800 feet above the river. To locate -them from below a telescope is needed. How it was possible for human -beings to get to some of these places, is a mystery still unsolved. - -Other dwellings stand on almost unscalable boulders, or they are placed -within the fissures and shallow caverns of perpendicular walls. They can -be reached only by descending from the upper rim of the cañon by means -of long ropes, or by climbing upwards from below by using hands as well -as feet. If one succeeds in getting to these places, one finds them -always provided with store rooms for food and water. Constant danger of -hostile assaults must have compelled people to live in such difficult -retreats, which could be prepared only at enormous expenditure of time -and labor. - -[Illustration: - - CLIFF DWELLINGS IN THE CANON OF RIO SAN JUAN, NEW MEXICO -] - -[Illustration: - - LAKE DWELLINGS IN NEW GUINEA -] - -Another form of refuge were the lake-dwellings, which were erected far -out in the lakes on platforms resting on heavy posts. Traces of such -structures have been found in many parts of the world. They are still -used by some of the aborigines of New Guinea and India, and also by the -Goajiro Indians of Northern Venezuela. Indeed, Venezuela owes its name -to the fact, that the Spanish discoverers of these lake-dwellings were -reminded of Venice, the queen city of the Adriatic. - -When in time such aboriginal tribes increased, so that their number -spelled warning to their neighbors, they created more comfortable camps -on the shores. Or they moved into caves, such as abound in all countries -where limestone is prevailing. - -Nomadic peoples like the Indians of North America and some tribes of -Siberia prepare tents of dressed skins, which are sewed together and -stretched over a framework of poles. Many aborigines of Southern Africa -and Australia are satisfied with bush shelters. Or they construct lodges -of willows, which they cover with bark or mud, to afford protection -against rain and the fierce rays of the sun. - -People, living in cold regions like the Eskimo, seek shelter from the -biting winter storms by digging pits five or six feet deep. These holes -they cover with dome-shaped roofs of whale-ribs and turf. Where these -materials are not at hand the Eskimos rely on hemispherical houses, -built of regular blocks of snow laid in spiral courses. The entrance is -gained by a long passage-way that shuts off cold as well as penetrating -winds. - -Having thus summarized the principal kinds of primitive dwellings, we -shall now briefly consider the activity of aboriginal peoples. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: - - WOMEN OF KAMBALA. CENTRAL AFRICA, CRUSHING GRAIN -] - - - THE DIVISION OF LABOR AND RESPONSIBILITIES BETWEEN THE SEXES. - -Explorers and scientists, who have lived among aboriginal tribes in -order to study their manners and customs, have always found, that each -sex has its own sphere of duty and work. To the stronger man fell the -obligation of protecting his family, which consisted of his wife or -wives and their offspring. It was also his share to support them with -the products of the chase, and to provide suitable material for the -building of the lodge. “These activities,” so states J .N. B. Hewitt in -the ‘Handbook of American Indians’ (Vol. II, 969), “required health, -strength and skill. The warrior was usually absent from the fireside on -the chase, on the warpath, or on the fishing-trip, days, weeks or -months, during which he often traveled many miles and was subjected to -the hardships and perils of hunting and fighting, and to the inclemency -of the weather, often without adequate shelter or food.” - -To the lot of women fell the care of the children, the labor required in -the home and in all that directly affected it. - -The essential principle governing this division of labor and -responsibility between the two sexes lies much deeper than in an -apparent tyranny of the man. The ubiquity of danger from human foes as -well as from wild beasts, the suddenness of their assaults when least -expected, compelled aboriginal men to keep their weapons always at hand. -During the day they hardly lay them aside, even for a minute, and at -night they are always within reach. This fact explains, why the women -and children transport all the loads, while the men carry nothing but -their weapons when aborigines move from one place to another. - -This division of functions consequently led men to confine their -ingenuity and activity chiefly to the improvement and skillful handling -of their arms, to the invention of snares for the game and to methods of -fighting animal and human foes. It led also to the inclination to regard -hunting and warfare as the only occupations worthy of men, and to -relegate all domestic work to the women, since such labor would be -degrading to the warrior. - -But the despised work of the weaker sex has proven of far greater value -to the progress of the human race than all heroic acts ever accomplished -by fighting men. To woman’s ingenuity we owe our comfortable homes. -Women kept the warming hearth-fire burning, prepared the meals, watched -faithfully over the children and made the clothes that gave protection -against rain and cold. To women’s inventive sense we owe also our most -important industries: agriculture, weaving, pottery, tannery, basketry, -dyeing, brewing, and many other peaceful arts.— - -It has been said that human culture began with man’s knowledge and -control of fire, that mysterious, ever consuming, ever brightly flaming -element, which was regarded by all aborigines as a thing of life, by -some even as an animal. It must have all the more forcibly impressed -men’s imagination, inasmuch as it not alone promoted man’s comfort, but -even made life endurable, especially in cold climates. - -It is certain that the practical knowledge of fire was obtained not at -one given spot only but in many different parts of the world and in a -variety of ways. In time men discovered also various methods of -producing sparks, generally by rubbing two sticks of wood or by knocking -two flints together. But as these methods were slow and laborious, it -became the custom for each band to maintain a constant fire for the use -of all families in order to avoid the troublesome necessity of obtaining -it by friction. Generally this constant fire was kept in the centre of -the village, to be in reach for everybody. The duty to keep it always -burning fell naturally to the women, as they remained always in the -village, and especially to those women not burdened with the cares of -maternity. As fire later on was regarded as a present of the good -spirits or gods to men, these central fires were held sacred, and so the -fire worship grew by degrees into a religious cult of great sanctity and -importance. - -[Illustration: - - LIFE AMONG PREHISTORIC CAVE-DWELLERS -] - - * * * * * - -[Illustration: - - WOMAN OF LOANGO, TILLING THE SOIL -] - -While searching for edible roots and berries, women became aware of the -usefulness of many plants. And soon they made attempts to cultivate them -in closer proximity to their lodges. - -Having cleaned a suitable spot women made with their primitive digging -sticks the holes, into which they sunk the seeds, from which the plants -were expected to develop. Experience, the mother of all wisdom, taught -women that these plants needed constant attention. So the ground was -kept free from weeds and properly watered. From time to time it was -loosened with hoes, which in the beginning were made of bones, shells or -stones, and later on of metal. - -Such was the origin of our vegetable gardens, orchards, and grain -fields. The continuous care, devoted to these plantations, greatly -improved the quality of useful plants. Poor and tasteless varieties -developed in time into those rich and palatable species, without which -our present human race could scarcely exist for a single day. I need -only name wheat, corn, barley, rye, peas, lentils, beans, rice, tapioca, -potatoes, yams, turnips, bread-fruit, pears, apples, plums, cherries, -bananas, dates, figs, nuts, oranges, coffee, cacao, tea, cotton and -hemp, to convince the reader of the immense value of women’s activity in -agriculture. - -As simple as were the tools for the cultivation of the soil, just as -simple were the implements for the extraction of flour from the grain. -Recent archæological research has disclosed the fact that many thousand -years before Christ Egyptian women ground corn between two stones in -just the same manner as the women of the Apache and Pueblo Indians and -many other aboriginal tribes are doing to this day. - -Other aboriginal women crushed the seeds in mortars of wood or stone. In -several parts of Asia women succeeded in inventing hand-mills, which -proved much more effective. - -The necessity of storing provisions for the winter and hard times led to -the invention of receptacles in which grain, nuts and dried berries -might be kept and be safe from destruction by rain and animals. While -pondering over the best methods of accomplishing this, women observed -that certain insects and birds moulded their nests from wet clay, and -that such nests, after hardening, were rain-proof. By this observation -women became induced to use the same material for all kinds of nest-like -vessels, in which provisions could be stored successfully. By accident -such vessels came in contact with fire. Then it was found that by such -baking the hardness of the vessels increased considerably. And so the -preliminaries were discovered for the art of pottery, in which many -aborigines became masters. - -Similar observations led to the art of weaving. The nets, spread out -everywhere by spiders for the capture of insects, gave women the first -hint to make similar fabrics for the capture of birds and fishes. The -spider’s thread was imitated by long hair and the fibres of certain -plants. These were twisted together in a manner similar to that used by -the weaver-birds in constructing their airy nests. - -For many thousand years weaving was done exclusively by hand. But in -time all kinds of apparatus were invented. And so weaving developed into -an art that among many aboriginal tribes was improved to the highest -degree. At the same time these female weavers created a genuine native -art. So for instance the garters, belts, sashes and blankets of the -Navajo and Pueblo Indians are, for their splendid quality as well as for -their tasteful designs and colors, highly appreciated by all -connoisseurs. The same is true in regard to the ponchos of the Mexicans -and Peruvians, and the magnificent shawls and carpets, made by the women -of Cashmere, Afghanistan, Persia and other countries of the Orient. - -[Illustration: - - A TOLTEC WOMAN SPINNING COTTON. -] - -Basketry, including matting and bagging, belongs also to the primitive -textile arts in which many native women excelled. By using choice -materials, or by adding resinous substances, some aboriginal women are -able to make baskets water-tight for holding or carrying water for -cooking. From crude beginnings basketry developed into an industry, -which in many countries grew to great importance, as for instance in -Morocco, where the markets are always supplied with large quantities of -bags and baskets of beautiful design and workmanship. - -Aboriginal women also attended to the dressing and tanning of skins of -those animals which the men brought home from their hunting expeditions. -In the domestic economy of many tribes skins were and are the most -valued and useful property, especially in all regions having a severe -climate. Every kind of skin, large enough to be stripped from the -carcass of beast, bird or fish, is used here in some way. - -A painting by George Catlin, the well-known artist, who during the first -part of the last century travelled among the various Indian tribes of -North America, illustrates the methods by which the skins of buffalo and -deer are staked out upon the ground or between poles. We see the women -engaged in scraping off the flesh and fat, a process which is followed -by several others until the skin is fit to be used for tent covers, -beddings, shields, saddles, lassoes, boats, clothes, mocassins, and -thousands of other things. - -Most skillful tanners and dressmakers are likewise the women of the -Eskimo tribes. They make excellent suits from the skins and even the -entrails of whales, walrus, seals and other animals. - -To the keen sense of women we also owe undoubtedly most of our domestic -implements. From the bones of fish and other animals they made needles -and pins; from the horns splendid spoons and combs. Gourds, pumpkins and -cocoanuts were turned into water bottles. Women also devised the -comfortable hammocks. About the cribs, cradles and swings, invented in -endless variety by aboriginal mothers for the protection and comfort of -their darlings, volumes might be written. And by innumerable pictures -and photographs it could be proven that the great care, bestowed -nowadays upon our babies, is not the outcome of our advanced culture, -but originated many thousand years ago among aboriginal women. - -The same is true in regard to the dolls and play-things with which women -seek to amuse those little ones, dearest to their hearts. What motherly -affection, ever present and everlasting, has done for the welfare and -progress of mankind, no one can conceive, nor describe, nor illustrate. - -As brief as these remarks about aboriginal woman’s activity are, they -indicate, however, sufficiently her share in the founding and evolution -of human culture. To appreciate this even more, we must not forget that -the life of those women was one of constant care, misery and danger. The -blissful happiness of aboriginal existence, of which we read sometimes -in novels, written by poetical dreamers, was never enjoyed by these -women. How full of hardships their share was in reality, we find by -investigating their place in the social life of their tribes. - -[Illustration: - - WOMAN OF NORTHERN AFRICA TENDING TO HER BABY -] - - - WOMEN AS OBJECTS OF RAPE, BARTER AND RELIGIOUS SACRIFICE. - -Matrimony is, like all other human institutions, the result of -evolution. In the dim past, after the ape-man had evolved to true man, -it was not known at all. Most probably all the females were the common -property of the males, the strongest of whom took hold of several women, -leaving the rest to their inferior chums. - -With the evolution of property rights these mates as well as their -offspring came to be regarded as the absolute property of the husband -and father, who could dispose of them at his pleasure by barter or -otherwise. So it was among primitive men a hundred thousand years ago -and so it is customary among aboriginal peoples to-day. At the death of -the husband his rights generally go to the oldest son or to the person -who becomes the head of the family. - -Accordingly as girls are not masters of their own bodies, so the barter -for women is customary among all aboriginal tribes. If a man sees a girl -to his liking he bargains with the head of her family about the price. -Among pastoral tribes it is generally paid in cattle; among hunters in -skins or other objects of value. - -Among the Zulu Kaffres the price for good-looking girls ranges from five -to thirty cows. In Uganda it is three or four oxen; among the Samoyedes -and Ostiaks of Siberia a number of reindeer; among the Sioux Indians two -to twenty horses; among the Bedouins a number of camels; in Samoa pigs -or canoes; among the Tatars sheep and several pounds of butter; among -the Bongo twenty pounds of iron and twenty spear-heads; among other -tribes a certain quantity of gold dust, beads, shells, and so on in -endless variety. As soon as the price is paid the girl, without being -asked her consent, is obliged to follow her new master. - -As among aborigines women have no will of their own, they cannot object -if their husbands exchange, trade or loan them to other men. So it is -customary among many tribes that if persons of importance come visiting, -the daughters or the wives of the host are assigned to comfort them over -night. - -If among the inhabitants of the Fiji Islands men became tired of their -“better halves,” they killed and boiled them and arranged cannibal -feasts in which all neighbors participated. - -Aboriginal women also must gracefully assent to their husbands’ taking -several wives. Their number depends on the man’s means. While poor men -satisfy themselves with one wife, chiefs generally buy numbers. The -despots of Dahomey in West Africa, for instance, filled their houses -with hundreds of women, who were obliged not only to amuse these kings -during their lifetime, but also to follow them in death. When such an -autocrat was assembled to his ancestors, his body was deposited in a -large cave. But in order that he should not travel alone through -eternity, his wives as well as all the members of his court were led -into the cave and provided with food for several days, whereupon the -entrance of the cave was closed and the occupants were left to their -fate. - -[Illustration: - - CARRYING OFF A WOMAN IN AUSTRALIA -] - -If among the aborigines a man is too poor to buy a wife, he generally -tries to steal one. But as he must not do so within his own clan, as he -would trespass upon the property rights of his fellow-men, nothing -remains but to kidnap a girl of some neighboring tribe. So he lurks -around the villages till some day a girl, while gathering berries or -edible roots, unfortunately happens to come too near his hiding place. -In this case the manner of his proposal is sudden, but effective. A blow -with his war club makes the damsel unconscious, whereupon he drags her -to some secure place. Here he keeps her till she has recovered her -senses and is able to follow him to his lodge. - -George Gray, who has written about the natives of Australia, states that -the life of young and attractive women among those tribes is a -continuous chain of capture by different men, terrible wounds and long -wanderings to unknown bands. In addition, such unfortunate females must -suffer very often extremely bad treatment by other women, to whom they -are brought as prisoners by their capturers. - -But women have been kidnapped not merely for sexual reasons, but also -for their ability to work. Herewith we open the darkest chapter in -woman’s history: Slavery, a word which has not lost its terrible meaning -for women up to the present day. - -Slavery has been practiced in all parts of the world in some form. But -Africa was the continent where it prevailed from time immemorial to the -greatest extent and assumed the most cruel forms. Phœnicians, Greeks, -Romans, Arabs, Turks, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Frenchmen, -Dutchmen, Englishmen and Americans sailed to its coasts, to capture men -as well as women and children, to sell and use them for slaves. - -It is impossible for human imagination to conceive the horrors and -misery, caused here by heartless pirates for thousands of years. - -Imagine a peaceful village, approached stealthily in the night by cruel -enemies, who surround it and then set fire to the huts. As the -inhabitants rush out in terror, those who resist capture are killed, and -those who have escaped the blessing of immediate death are fettered and -marched off. Imagine long columns of such unfortunate and often severely -wounded men, women and children chained together and driven by ruthless -brutes through pathless jungles and arid deserts, to far away markets. -No matter how hot the sun burns down, they must move on. Woe to those -who break down! They are left where they have dropped, to perish of -hunger and thirst, or to be torn by wild beasts. Or, as a warning to the -others, they are butchered in cold blood by their drivers. For those who -reach their destination, where they are traded like cattle, an existence -is waiting that will have fewer moments of joy than there are oases in -an endless desert. - -For time immemorial women also fell prey to religious superstition. To -keep evil demons in good humor, or to thank some imaginary gods for -victories and other blessings, human beings have been sacrificed by -thousands. The “Dark Continent” again holds the record in this respect. -And again the autocrats of Dahomey were those who, in religious frenzy, -spilled the blood of hundreds and thousands of men as well as of women. - -[Illustration: - - A BRIDE OF THE NILE - - After a painting by W. Gentz. -] - -From their country the so-called Vodoo-service, the worship of the -“Great Snake,” has been brought by slaves to the West Indies, where it -was handed down from generation to generation. It still prevails in -Hayti, “the black man’s republic.” Here it is, that the Vodoo priests -and their devout followers meet in silent forests, to pay homage to -their ugly god by sacrificing women as well as children. - -Herodotus and other historians of classic times relate that every year -in Egypt, when the Nile began to rise, to which that country owes its -abundance, the priests persuaded a beautiful girl to become the bride of -the river-god. Adorned with jewels and flowers, and greeted by all the -people, this virgin was led to the flat roof of a temple overlooking the -mighty river. After prayers and invocations had been made, she was -tossed into the swirling floods, which swiftly carried her away. - -Among the early Latin peoples similar sacrifices seem to have been -customary, as is indicated by the fact that in Rome on the 15th of May -in every year the Vestal virgins, in presence of all the priests, -municipal authorities and the people threw twenty-four life-size dolls, -the so-called Argeer, into the Tiber. - -To calm the rage of the god of fire and earthquake, the priests of -ancient Japan also hurled beautiful virgins into the flaming crater of -Fuji Yama. - -Humanity needed thousands of years to shake off such monstrous illusions -and customs, because nothing is so difficult as to eliminate ideas and -customs that are rooted in religious superstition, and, through being -handed down from generation to generation, become surrounded with a halo -of sacredness and solemnity. - -To such institutions belonged also, what by some students of human -culture has been characterized as “hierarchical or sacred prostitution.” -As is generally known, there exist among almost all aboriginal tribes -crafty charlatans, who pretend to have influence over those supernatural -powers, which are believed to be the distributors of all blessings as -well as of all evils. These so-called sorcerers, healers, conjurors, -magicians, medicine-men, or shamans, the predecessors of the priests, -usurped among many tribes the privilege of deflouring all virgins before -their entrance into marriage. With the gradual evolution of priesthood -this practice was made a rite, which among various nations of antiquity -developed into the most voluptuous orgies known in history. - - - - - Women during the Ages of Antiquity. - - -[Illustration: - - A NOBLEMAN AND HIS WIFE IN BABYLON -] - - - WOMEN IN BABYLONIA. - -As the cultivated nations of Antiquity sprang from inferior tribes, it -is only natural that in their social life many of the habits and customs -of prehistorical times survived. Nowhere was this fact more evident than -in the status of women. Everywhere we find a strange mixture of the rude -conceptions of the dim past and promising prospects for a brighter -future. In many places women were still regarded as inferior creatures, -subjected to the will of men and with no rights whatever over their own -persons. We also note that polygamy, barter, rape, slavery and -hierarchical prostitution still flourish in all kinds of forms and -disguises. But at the same time we are surprised to see that among -certain nations the members of the fair sex enjoy already the same -respect and almost a similar amount of rights and liberty, as our women -possess to-day. - -Modern archæologists are inclined to recognize those formerly fertile -lands between the Persian Gulf and Asia Minor, and watered by the -Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, as the “Cradle of Civilization,” or the -place, where in misty ages, before history began, the so-called -Sumerians, a Semitic people, first attempted to form themselves into -organized communities. According to the traditions of the Hebrews here -was the original home of the human race, the “Garden of Eden,” and here -was, as is told in Genesis XI, “that men said one to another: ‘Go to, -let us build a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven; and let -us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the -whole earth.’” - -This city was called Babylon, and the country =Babylonia=. Wonderful -stories and legends are connected with these two names, but still more -astounding are the revelations unearthed by the pick and shovel of -modern explorers. By their diligent work it has been discovered that the -people, living in this region somewhere about 4,000 to 6,000 years B. C. -were already a highly organized and civilized race, skilled in various -trades and professions, and living in towns of considerable size and -importance. The inhabitants of these cities were by no means awkward in -the fine arts. Most important of all, they had already evolved a very -complete and highly developed system of writing, which in itself must -have taken many centuries to reach the stage at which it was found by -the explorers. - -As may be read in the elaborate works of Maspero, Hilprecht and other -explorers, they discovered in the ruins of the principal cities of -Babylonia several ancient libraries and archives containing thousands of -tablets of clay, stone and bronze, covered with inscriptions of -religious, astrological and magical texts, epics, chronicles and -syllabaries. There are also contracts; records of debts; leases of -lands, houses and slaves; deeds of transfer of all kinds of property; -mortgages; documents granting power of attorney; tablets dealing with -bankruptcy and inheritance; in fact, almost every imaginable kind of -deed or contract is found among them. - -The most precious relic is the famous Code of Hammurabi, King of -Babylonia. This collection of laws, engraved on stone 2,250 years B. C. -and now preserved in the Louvre, is so elaborate and systematic that it -can hardly have been the first one. Back of it there must have been a -long period of usage and custom. But it is the first great collection of -laws that has come down to us. In 282 sections it regulates almost every -conceivable incident and relationship of life. Not only are the great -crimes dealt with and penalized, but life is regulated down to its most -minute details. There are laws on marriage, breach of promise, divorce, -desertion, concubinage, rights of women, purchase-money of brides, -guardianship of the widow and orphan, adoption of children, etc. Through -these laws we gain full information about the position of women in -ancient Babylonia. Three classes of women are recognized: wives, -concubines, and slaves. From other sources we know that all women of the -higher class were cloistered in the harem and never appeared by the side -of husbands or brothers in public. The harem system, at least for -Western Asia and Europe, most probably originated in Babylonia. - -The National Geographic Magazine of February, 1916, gives the text of a -love letter, written several thousand years ago and sent by a young man -to his sweetheart. It reads as follows: “To Bibea, thus says Gimil -Marduk: may the Gods Shamash and Marduk permit thee to live forever for -my sake. I write to inquire concerning thy health. Tell me how thou art. -I went to Babylon, but did not see thee. I was greatly disappointed. -Tell me the reason for thy leaving, that I may be happy. Do come in the -month Marchesvan. Keep well always for my sake.” - -In the same place we find the following example of a marriage contract: - -“Nabu-nadin-akhi, son of Bel-akbe-iddin, grandson of Ardi-Nergal, spoke -thus to Shum-ukina, son of Mushallimu: ‘Give me thy Ina-Esagila-banat, -the virgin, to wife to Uballitsu-Gula, my son.’ Shum-ukina hearkened -unto him and gave Ina-Esagila-banat, his virgin daughter, to -Uballitsu-Gula, his son. One mina of silver, three female slaves, -Latubashinnu, Inasilli-esabat and Taslimu, besides house furniture, with -Ina-Esagila-banat, his daughter, as a marriage-portion he gave to -Nabu-nadin-akhi. Nanâ-Gishirst, the slave of Shum-ukina, in lien of -two-thirds of a mina of silver, her full price Shum-ukina gave to -Nabu-Nadin-akhi out of the one mina of silver for her marriage-portion. -One-third of a mina, the balance of the one mina, Shum-ukina will give -Nabu-nadin-akhi, and her marriage-portion is paid. Each took a writing -(or contract).” - -This document, written on a tablet of clay, is signed by six witnesses -and the scribe. - -As Professor Clay explains “it has been the custom with most peoples in -a large part of the ancient as well as the modern Orient to base a -betrothal upon an agreement of the man or his parents to pay a sum of -money to the girl’s father.” In Babylonia this “bride-money,” together -with the gift of the father and other gifts, formed the marriage-portion -which was given to the bride. There were prudential reasons for this -practice. It gave the woman protection against ill-treatment and -infidelity on the part of the husband, as well as against divorce; for -if she returned to her father’s house she took with her the marriage -portion unless she was the offending party. If she died childless, the -marriage-portion was divided among them. - -In case the girl’s father rejected the suitor after the contract had -been made, he was required to return double the amount of the bride -price. The betrothals took place usually when the parties were young, -and as a rule the engagements were made by the parents. A marriage -contract was necessary to make a marriage legal. In some cases peculiar -conditions were made, such as the bride’s being required to wait upon -the mother-in-law, or even upon another wife. If it was stipulated that -the man should not take a second wife, the woman could secure a divorce -in case her husband broke the agreement. - -Concubinage was indulged in, especially when the wife was childless and -she had not given her husband a slave maid that he might have children. -The law fully determined the status of the concubine and protected her -rights. - -At the husband’s death the wife received her marriage-portion and what -was deeded to her during the husband’s life. If he had not given her a -portion of the estate during his life, she received a son’s share and -was permitted to retain her home, but she could marry again. A widow -with young children could only marry with the consent of the judge. An -inventory of the former husband’s property was made and it was intrusted -to the couple for the dead party’s children. - -If a man divorced a woman, which he could do by saying to her “Thou art -not my wife!” she received her marriage-portion and went back to her -father’s home. In case there was no dowry, she received one mina of -silver, if the man belonged to the gentry; but only one-third of a mina -if he was a commoner. - -For infidelity the woman could divorce her husband and take the -marriage-portion with her. In case of a woman’s infidelity, the husband -could degrade her as a slave; he even could have her drowned or put to -death with the sword. In case of disease, the man could take a second -wife, but was compelled to maintain his invalid wife in his home. If she -preferred to return to her father’s house, she could take the -marriage-portion with her. - -[Illustration: - - THE MARRIAGE MARKET AT BABYLON - - After a painting by Edwin Long. -] - -From several of these engraved tablets it appears, that a woman received -the same pay for the same work when she took a man’s place. - -To Herodotus, the so-called “Father of History,” we are indebted for -some highly interesting notes about the “marriage market of ancient -Babylon.” Its site, uncovered in 1913 by the German Oriental Society, -was in close neighborhood of the palaces of Nebuchadnezzar and -Belshazzar and occupied a rectangle of 100 by 150 feet. Open to the air -on all four sides, it was most probably shielded from the sun by rich -awnings devised to shelter the daughters of Babylon and bring out their -charms. The marble block upon which they stood while being bid for was -in the center of the spectators and richly carved with cherubs, who -worshiped and protected the “Tree of Life.” Several inscriptions leave -no doubt, that this was the actual market of which Herodotus gave the -following description: “Once a year the maidens of age to marry in -Babylon were collected at the market, while the men stood around them in -a circle. Then a herald called up the damsels one by one and offered -them for sale. He began with the most beautiful. When she was sold for -no small sum he offered for sale the one who came next to her in beauty. -All of them were to be sold as wives. The richest of the Babylonians who -wished to wed bid against each other for the loveliest maidens, while -the humbler wife seekers, who were indifferent about beauty, took the -more homely damsels with marriage-portions. For the custom was that when -the herald had gone through the whole number of the fair ones he should -then call up the ugliest—a cripple if there chanced to be one—and offer -her to the men, asking who would agree to take her with the smallest -marriage-portion. And the man who offered to take the smallest sum had -her assigned to him. The marriage-portions were furnished by the money -paid for the beautiful girls, and thus the fairer maidens portioned out -the uglier. No one was allowed to give his daughter to the man of his -choice, nor might any one carry away the damsel he had purchased without -finding bail really and truly to make her his wife. If, however, it was -found that they did not agree the money might be paid back. All who -liked might come, even from distant villages, and bid for the women.” - -Herodotus as well as the Roman Curtius Rufus have written also about the -so-called “hierarchical or sacred prostitution,” as it was connected -with the service of Mylitta or Belit, the Babylonian goddess of the -producing agencies.[1] Her temple was surrounded by a grove, which, like -the temple, became the scene of most voluptuous orgies, about which -Jeremiah too has given indications in his letter directed to Baruch. -(Baruch VI. 42, 43.) - -Footnote 1: - - About this subject Rev. T. M. Lindsay, Professor of Divinity and - Church History, Free Church College, Glasgow, writes in the - Encyclopædia Britannica in an essay about Christianity: “All paganism - is at bottom a worship of Nature in some form or other, and in all - pagan religions the deepest and most awe-inspiring attribute of nature - was its power of reproduction. The mystery of birth and becoming was - the deepest mystery of Nature; it lay at the root of all thoughtful - paganism and appeared in various forms, some of a more innocent, - others of a most debasing type. To ancient pagan thinkers, as well as - to modern men of science the key to the hidden secret of the origin - and preservation of the universe lay in the mystery of sex. Two - energies or agents, one an active and generative, the other a - feminine, passive, or susceptible one, were everywhere thought to - combine for creative purpose, and heaven and earth, sun and moon, day - and night, were believed to co-operate to the production of being. - Upon some such basis as this rested almost all the polytheistic - worship of the old civilization, and to it may be traced back, stage - by stage, the separation of divinity into male and female gods, the - deification of distinct powers of nature, and the idealization of - man’s own faculties, desires, and lusts, where every power of his - understanding was embodied as an object of adoration, and every - impulse of his will became an incarnation of deity. But in each and - every form of polytheism we find the slime-track of the deification of - sex; there is not a single one of the ancient religions which has not - consecrated by some ceremonial rite even the grossest forms of sensual - indulgence, while many of them actually elevated prostitution into a - solemn service of religion.” - -According to these statements every woman was compelled to visit the -temple of Mylitta at least once during her life and give herself over to -any stranger, who would throw some money on her lap and with the words: -“I appeal to Mylitta!” indicate his desire to possess her. Such an -appeal could not be rejected, no matter how small the sum was, as this -money was to be offered on the altar of the goddess and thus became -sacred. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: - - HEBREW WOMEN DURING THE TIME OF ANTIQUITY. -] - - - WOMAN’S STATUS AMONG THE HEBREWS. - -The early =Hebrews= or =Israelites=, being of the same Semitic stock as -the Babylonians, but preferring a pastoral life, observed similar habits -in their relations to women. Matrimony to them was not a necessity based -on mutual love and respect, but a divine order, binding especially the -man. While it was his obligation to maintain the human race, especially -the Jewish stock, woman was merely the medium to reach this end by her -beauty and charm and by giving birth to children. - -For the conclusion of a marriage the mutual consent of the two -contrahents was necessary. But generally the marriage was arranged by -the fathers or some other relations, who likewise settled the question -as to how much would be the dowry of the son as well as of the daughter. -That sometimes even a faithful servant was charged with the negotiation -of these delicate questions, is told in Genesis XXIV, where it is said -that Abraham, in order to secure for his son Isaac a wife of his -kindred, commissioned his eldest servant to make a journey to his former -home in Mesopotamia. While resting at a well, he met Rebekah, the -beautiful daughter of Bethuel, a son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. When -Rebekah consented to become Isaac’s wife, Abraham’s servant brought -forth many jewels of silver and gold and raiment, and gave them to -Rebekah. Having given also to her brother and to her mother many -precious things, he started for the return journey, taking Rebekah and -her maid servants with him. - -The story of Jacob and Rachel, as told in Genesis XXIX, proves, that -among the early Hebrews the barter for women was customary, but that the -wooer might obtain the girl of his longing likewise by serving her -father for a certain length of time. As the early Hebrew had an aversion -to mingling with the inhabitants of Canaan, Isaac, Jacob’s father, sent -him to Mesopotamia, the former habitat of the Hebrews, to select a wife -among the daughters of Laban, his mother’s brother. - -Meeting Rachel, Laban’s youngest daughter, he became so deeply impressed -by her charm, and so eager to gain her, that he offered Laban to serve -him for Rachel for seven years. Having fulfilled his contract, Jacob -was, however, beguiled by Laban, who at the wedding-night substituted -his eldest daughter Leah for Rachel. When in the morning Jacob became -aware of the deception, Laban claimed that it was not customary, in his -country, to give away a younger daughter before the firstborn. And so he -succeeded in persuading Jacob to serve him for Rachel another term of -seven years. - -While monogamy was the rule among the Hebrews, polygamy was permitted, -especially if the first wife was barren. As this was the case with -Sarah, the wife of Abraham, she gave her husband Hagar, an Egyptian -maid-servant, with whom Abraham begat a son, Ishmael. Of Leah and -Rachel, the two wives of Jacob, we may read in Genesis XXX, that they, -not having born children to Jacob, likewise introduced to him their -maids Bilhah and Zilpah, each of which bore Jacob two sons.—It is -certain that some of the patriarchs had a great number of wives, and -that not all of these held the same rank, some being inferior to the -principal wife. The right of concubinage was practically unlimited. -Abraham kept a number of concubines, as appears in Genesis XXV, 6, where -it is said that he, when dividing his property, gave gifts to the sons -of his concubines. Of Solomon the first book of Kings XI, 3, states, -that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. - -In the Mosaic law concubinage and divorce was a privilege of the husband -only. A wife accused of adultery was compelled to undergo the horrible -ordeal of the bitter water, as described in Numbers V. If found guilty, -she might be stoned to death. - -To continue the male issue of the family was the paramount mission of -the wife. That the birth of a male baby was regarded as an event of far -greater importance than that of a female, appears from Leviticus XII, -where it is said, that a woman, giving birth to a son, was regarded -unclean for only seven days and must not touch hallowed things nor come -into the sanctuary for a period of thirty-three days. But if -unfortunately she became the mother of a girl, she was considered -unclean for fourteen days and had to abstain from religious service for -sixty-six days. Only after she had made atonement for the sin of -motherhood by offering a lamb or a pair of pigeons, was she forgiven. - -The prejudice against woman is also confirmed by the fact, that, -according to Exodus XXIII, 17, all male Jews were required to appear -before the Lord three times in the year, and that they had to repair to -Jerusalem once a year, with all their belongings. But the women were not -privileged to accompany their husbands. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: - - HINDOO WOMEN FROM CASHMERE. -] - - - WOMAN’S STATUS AMONG THE PARSEE AND HINDOO. - -To investigate woman’s position among the other ancient nations of Asia -is also of interest. - -The =Parsee= or =Parsis=, belonging to the great Aryan or Indo-Germanic -race, occupied two thousand years before Christ that part of Central -Asia known at present as Iran or Persia. Whether this country was the -original home of that race, is unknown. Some modern scientists are -inclined to seek it in more northern parts of Asia or even of Europe, as -the sacred songs of the Parsee contain indications, that the Aryans -originally came from countries with a temperate or frigid zone. When for -instance the Vedic singers in hot India prayed for long life, they asked -for “a hundred winters.” - -In their treatment of women these Aryans or Parsee have been much more -noble than any other Asiatic race. They believed in marriage for higher -purposes than the mere begetting of children. The principal incentive to -conclude a marriage was the desire to contribute to the great renovation -hereafter, which, according to the sacred book of the Parsee, the -Zend-Avesta, is promised to humanity. This renovation cannot be carried -out in the individual self, but must be gradually worked out through a -continuous line of sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons. The motive of -marriage was therefore sacred. It was a religious purpose they had in -view, when the male and female individuals contributed by marital union -their assistance, first, in the propagation of the human race; second, -in spreading the Zoroastrian faith; and third, in giving stability to -the religious kingdom of God by contributing to the victory of the good -cause, which victory will be complete about the time of resurrection. -The objects of the marriage bond were, therefore, purely religious, -tending to the success of light, piety or virtue in this world. For this -reason the Avesta declares that married men are far above those who -remain single; that those who have a settled home are far above those -who have none; and that those who have children are of far greater value -to humanity than those who have no offspring. - -While daughters were believed to be less useful than sons for the -continuation of the father’s race, they were, however, not disliked, but -also objects of love and tenderness. Marriages were not the result of -any barter or capture, but of pure selection on the part of the two -individuals. If they were still of minor age, the marriage was subject -to the confirmation of the parents or guardians. - -Infanticide was strictly prohibited. There were also laws against the -destruction of the fruit of adultery. Such illegitimate offspring had to -be fed and brought up at the expense of the male sinner until they -became seven years of age. - - * * * * * - -Like the valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, and like the -highlands of Central Asia, or Ariyana, so the mountains, plains and -forests of =India= were inhabited long before the dawn of history by -masses of men of various races and split into many hundreds of tribes. -Of these races descendants exist in almost the same conditions as their -ancestors did many thousand years ago. In Southern India the Kader are -still living in primitive tree-huts. Assam and Bhutan are regions -abounding with villages which are the exact counterparts of the -prehistorical lake-dwellings of Switzerland. - -These vast regions of India were at some unknown time invaded by tribes -of =Aryan= or =Indo-Germanic= race. While among the aborigines of India -women were subjected to all the hardships and bad treatment of primeval -times, the women of the Aryans enjoyed, as stated above, a far higher -position. Like their husbands they were the “rulers of the house,” had -the entire management of household affairs, and were allowed to appear -freely in public. Husband and wife also drew near to the gods together -in prayer. That the education of the females was not neglected is proven -by the fact, that some of the most beautiful Vedas or national hymns and -lyric poems were composed by ladies and queens.— - -With the decline of the Aryan race and culture in India, caused most -probably by the hot, enervating climate of the country, the position of -women also underwent a change for the worse. Especially the growing -despotism of the Brahmanic priests gradually robbed women of all their -former rights and liberty. In time they became completely subject to the -authority of man. Mothers owed obedience to their own sons, and -daughters were absolutely dependent upon the will of their fathers. The -system of conventional precepts, known as “Manu’s Code of Laws,” clearly -defined the relative position and the duties of the several castes and -sexes, and determined the penalties to be inflicted on any transgressors -of the limits assigned to each of them. But these laws are conceived -with no human or sentimental scruples on the part of their authors. On -the contrary, the offenses, committed by Brahmans against other castes, -are treated with remarkable clemency, whilst the punishments inflicted -for trespasses on the rights of the Brahmans and higher classes are the -more severe and inhuman the lower the offender stands in the social -scale. - -Against the female sex Manu’s laws are full of hostile expressions: -“Women are able to lead astray in this world, not only the fools, but -even learned men, and to make them slaves of lust and anger.”— - -“The cause of all dishonor is woman; the cause of hostility is woman; -the cause of our worldly existence is woman; therefore we must turn away -from woman.”—“Girls and wives must never do anything of their own will, -not even in their own homes.”—“Women are by their nature inclined to -seduce men; therefore no man shall sit even with his own relative in -lonely places.”—“The wife must be devoted to her husband during her -whole life as well as after his death. Even if he is not without blame, -even if he is unfaithful and without a good character, she must -nevertheless respect him like a god. She must do nothing that might -displease him, neither during his life nor after his death.”—“Day and -night must women be held in a state of dependence.”— - -As the subjection of women was made a cardinal principle of the Brahman -priests, they did not shrink from misinterpreting the text of the Vedas -accordingly. So the sentence: “You wife, ascend into the realm of life! -Come to us! Do your duty toward your husband!” was explained to mean -that a widow must not marry again but ought to follow her husband also -in death. This led to the voluntary burning of the widows with the -corpse of the husband, a practice which assumed great dimensions and was -observed till the middle of the 19th Century. Mrs. Postans, an English -lady, who during the first part of the last century resided many years -in Cutch, one of the northern provinces of India, gave the following -account of such a ceremony: “News of the widow’s intentions having -spread, a great concourse of people of both sexes, the women clad in -their gala costumes, assembled round the pyre. In a short time after -their arrival the fated victim appeared, accompanied by the Brahmins, -her relatives, and the body of the deceased. The spectators showered -chaplets of mogree on her head, and greeted her appearance with -laudatory exclamations at her constancy and virtue. The women especially -pressed forward to touch her garments—an act which is considered -meritorious, and highly desirable for absolution and protection from the -“evil eye.”” - -“The widow was a remarkably handsome woman, apparently about thirty, and -most superbly attired. Her manner was marked by great apathy to all -around her, and by a complete indifference to the preparations which for -the first time met her eye. Physical pangs evidently excited no fears in -her; her singular creed, the customs of her country, and her sense of -confused duty excluded from her mind the natural emotions of personal -dread, and never did martyr to a true cause go to the stake with more -constancy and firmness, than did this delicate and gentle woman prepare -to become the victim of a deliberate sacrifice to the demoniacal tenets -of her heathen creed.” - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: - - A LADIES’ PARLOR IN CHINA. -] - - - WOMAN IN CHINA AND JAPAN. - -While the fate of women in India was shaped by Manu’s Code of Laws, in -=China= it was decided by the orders of Confucius, the famous sage, born -in the year 550 B. C. and in popular histories of his life praised in -the lines: - - “Confucius! Confucius! How great was Confucius! - Before him there was no Confucius, - Since him there has been no other. - Confucius! Confucius! How great was Confucius!” - -In the rules, which this savant gave to his followers, he demanded full -subordination of woman to man; also, that the two sexes should have -nothing in common and live separated in two different parts of the -house. The husband must not mingle in the internal affairs of the home, -while the wife must not concern herself in any outside matter. Also -women should have no right to make decisions but in everything be guided -by the orders of their husbands. - -Women have likewise no proper position before the law and cannot be -witnesses in any court. The father may sell his daughter, and the -husband may sell his wife. Concubines are permitted and often are housed -under the same roof with the wife. Daughters are not welcomed, but -treated with contempt. - -To get rid of a superabundance of infant girls which were regarded as a -burden and as unwelcome eaters, the Chinese in former times resorted to -exposure and infanticide to such an appalling extent that these -cruelties became a national calamity and disgrace. Generally the female -babies were drowned. In the provinces of Fukian and Kiangsi infanticide -was so common, that, according to Douglas, at public canals stones could -be seen bearing the inscription: “Infants must not be drowned here!”— - -To lessen these abuses one of the emperors of the Sung-dynasty decreed -that all persons, willing to adopt exposed children, should be -compensated by the government. But this well-meant decree brought evil -results, as many people, who adopted such foundlings, raised them for -the purpose of making them their own concubines, or to sell them to the -keepers of brothels, of which every Chinese city had an abundance. -Placed in these brothels when six or seven years old, the unfortunate -girls were compelled to serve the older inmates for several years. Later -on they assisted in entertaining visitors with song and music. But -having reached the age of twelve or thirteen, they were regarded as -sufficiently developed to bring profit in the lines of their actual -designation. - -The final fate of such unfortunate beings was in most cases miserable -beyond description. Having been exploited to the utmost by their -heartless owners, they were, when withered and no longer desirable, -thrown into the streets, to perish in some filthy corner. - -Women of the lower classes too had a hard life. In addition to such -unfavorable conditions there existed among the aristocrats a strict -adherence to ancient manners and customs. Accordingly the life of the -whole nation became rigid and ossified. Foreigners, who came in close -contact with Chinese aristocrats, speak of their women with greater pity -than of the females of the poor, describing them as dull and boring -creatures, with no higher interests than dress and gossip. - -As in Japan the rules of Confucius were likewise in force, the position -of woman in “the Land of the Rising Sun” likewise was an inferior one. -Obedience was her lifelong duty. As a girl she owed obedience to her -father, as a wife to her husband, and as a widow to her oldest son. And -in the “Onna Deigaku,” the classic manual for the education of women, -she was advised to be constantly aware of the bar between the two sexes. - -[Illustration: - - AN ENTERTAINMENT AMONG THE GEISHAS OF JAPAN. -] - -[Illustration: - - AN EGYPTIAN QUEEN AND HER ATTENDANTS. -] - - - WOMAN AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. - -Of the many nations that occupy the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the -=Egyptians= are the oldest. To them one of the foremost scholars, George -Ebers, paid the following compliment: “If it is true that the culture of -a nation may be judged by the more or less favorable position, held by -its women, then the culture of ancient Egypt surpassed that of all other -nations of Antiquity.” - -Indeed, when we study the innumerable inscriptions, paintings and -sculptures of Egyptian tombs, and investigate the many well preserved -papyrus rolls, we find this praise fully justified. Not only did the -Egyptians generally confine themselves to one wife, but they also -extended to her more and greater privileges, than she had in any other -country. Woman was honored as the source of life, as the mother of all -being. Therefore contracts, carefully set up, protected her in her -rights and secured her the title Neb-t-em pa, “the mistress of the -house.” As such she had, if the authority of Diodorus can be credited, -absolute control over all domestic affairs and no objection was made to -her commands whatsoever they might be. It is also significant, that -where biographical notes appear, on tombs, statues and sarcophagi, the -name of the deceased mother is frequently given, while the name of the -father is not mentioned. So it reads for instance: “Ani, born by -Ptah-sit,” “Seti, brought to life by Ata.” The spirit of true affection -and real family life likewise found expression in many poetical names -given by sorrowful widowers to their departed wives. There is an -inscription, in which a husband praises his lost mate as “the palm of -loveliness and charm”; another one extols his spouse as “a faithful lady -of the house, who was devoted to her husband in true fondness.” - -That the highly developed, culture of the Egyptians was based on strong -ethical principles, also appears from the text of the so-called “Papyrus -Prisse,” perhaps the oldest book of morals ever written. Its author, -Prince Ptah-hotep, who lived about 3350 B. C., gives hints and advice in -regard to social intercourse and manners, to be observed among people of -refinement. Hear what he says about the treatment of women: “If you are -wise, you will take proper care of your house and love your wife in all -honor. Nourish, clothe and adorn her, as this is the joy of her limbs. -Provide her with pleasing odors; make her glad and happy as long as you -live, because she is a gift that shall be worthy of its owner. Don’t be -a tyrant. By friendly conduct you will attain much more than by rough -force. Then her breath will be merry and her eyes bright. Gladly she -will live in your house and will work in it with affection and to her -heart’s content.” - -Children were regarded as the gifts of the gods, and brought up in good -manners and obedience. - -In company with their husbands Egyptian women took part in all kinds of -social and public festivals. At social affairs the master and mistress -of the house presided, sitting close together, while the guests, men and -women, frequently mingled, strangers as well as members of the same -family. Agreeable conversation was considered the principal charm of -polite society, and according to Herodotus it was customary at such -gatherings, to bring into the hall a wooden image of Osiris, the Lord of -Life and Death, to remind the guests not only of the transitoriness of -all earthly things and human pleasures, but also of the duty, to meet -all others during the short span of this earthly life with kindness and -love. - -[Illustration: - - A LADIES’ PARTY IN ANCIENT EGYPT. -] - -That ladies’ parties are not an innovation of our times but date back -thousands of years before Christ, we learn from many finely executed -carvings and frescoes which represent feasts. In long rows we see the -fair ones sitting together, in finest attire, with hair carefully -dressed and adorned with lotus flowers. Waited upon by handmaids and -female slaves, they chat and enjoy the delicious sweets, cakes and -fruits, with which the tables are loaded. As the hours passed, fresh -bouquets were brought to them, and the guests are shown in the act of -burying their noses in the delicate petals, with an air of luxury which -even the conventionalities of the draughtsman cannot hide. Wine was also -partaken of, and that the ladies were not restricted in its use, is -evident from the fact, that the painters have sometimes sacrificed their -gallantry to a love of caricature. “We see some ladies call the servants -to support them as they sit; others with difficulty prevent themselves -from falling on those behind them; a basin is brought too late by a -reluctant servant, and the faded flower, which is ready to drop from -heated hands, is intended to be characteristic of their own -sensations.”[2] - -Footnote 2: - - Wilkinson, Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, Vol. II, p. - 166. - -In Egypt women were permitted to practice as physicians. They were -likewise admitted into the service of the temple. In most solemn -processions they advanced towards the altar with the priests, bearing -the sacred sistrum, an instrument emitting jingling sounds when shaken -by the dancer. Queens and princesses frequently accompanied the monarchs -while they offered their prayers and sacrifices to the deity, holding -one or two ceremonial instruments in their hands. - -The constitution of Egypt also provided that, when at the death of a -king no male successor was at hand, the royal authority and supreme -direction of affairs might be entrusted without reserve to one of the -princesses, who in such case ascended the throne. History records -several Egyptian queens, among them Cleopatra VI, who became famous -through her relations to Cæsar and Anthony. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: - - IN THE TIME OF SAPPHO AND ASPASIA. -] - - - WOMAN AMONG THE GREEKS. - -The great regard extended to women by the Egyptians could not fail to -influence to some extent those nations, with whom they came in contact, -especially the =Greeks= and the =Romans=. - -Ancient Greece, or to be more correct, Hellas, was occupied by the -=Hellenes=, belonging to the Aryan or Indo-Germanic race, who had -immigrated from Central Asia in prehistoric times. A pastoral rather -than an agricultural people, they were divided into several branches, of -which the Dorians, Ionians, Aeolians, and Pelasgians were the most -prominent. - -No people has ever recognized the charm of women with greater enthusiasm -than the Greeks. To them the fair sex was the embodiment of cheerful -life, of the joy of being. To this conception we owe many of the most -excellent works of art, among them several unsurpassed statues of Venus, -the goddess of beauty and love. - -In the treatment of their women the various branches of the Hellenes -were not alike. But all took deep interest in the harmonious development -of the body, of beauty and art. Gymnastic games and prize-fights were -the favorite entertainments, especially among the Dorians, one branch of -whom, the Spartans, became famous for their strict methods in rearing -and educating boys as well as girls. - -To secure to the state a race of strong and healthy citizens, the -Spartans allowed no sickly infant to live, and girls were required to -take part in all gymnastic exercises of the young men. Women were even -admitted to co-operate in all public affairs. As great attention was -given also to their education, the women of Sparta gained in time such -great influence over their men, that the other Hellenes jokingly spoke -of “Sparta’s female government,” a remark, which was promptly answered -with the reply, that the women of Sparta were also the only ones, who -gave birth to real men. - -That the Hellenic women were treated with great dignity during the -so-called “heroic age,” and that they enjoyed far greater liberty than -in later periods, is evident from the poems of Homer. In the Iliad -Achilles says: “Every true and sensible man will treat his wife -respectfully and take proper care of her.” And in another place Homer -declares that “besides beauty good judgment, intellect and skill in all -female works are the merits, by which a wife will become a respected -consort to her husband.” - -In the “Odyssey” Homer gives in Penelope a very attractive example of -female faithfulness and dignity. He also makes Odysseus say to Nausikaa: -“There is nothing so elevating and beautiful, as when husband and wife -live in harmony in their home, to the annoyance of their adversaries, to -the rejoicing of their friends, and to their own honor!” - -Among the many deities, worshiped by the Greeks, one of the most -attractive figures was Hestia, the goddess of the home or hearth fire. -As explained in a former chapter, the constant fire, kept by aboriginal -bands in the centre of their villages, became in time a sacred symbol of -home and family life, and by degrees grew into a religious cult of great -sanctity and importance. As women in ancient Hellas too were the -guardians of this tribal fire, so its deity was believed to be a -goddess, Hestia, whose name means “home—or hearth-fire.” As the tribal -fire was always kept burning so the fire in the Pytaneion, the temples -of Hestia, was to remain alive. If by any mischance it became -extinguished, only sacred fire made by friction, or got directly from -the Sun, might be used to rekindle it. The Pytaneion was always in the -center of the villages and cities. Around its fire the magistrates met, -and received foreign guests. From this fire, representing the life of -the city, was taken the fire wherewith that on the hearth of new -colonies was kindled. - -In later times, however, the high conceptions the Greeks had of -womanhood underwent considerable change, and the close intimacy between -husband and wife, which had hitherto distinguished married life, -vanished. When with the extension of navigation and commerce the Greeks -came into closer touch with the luxurious life of Asiatic nations, they -adopted many of their manners and thoughts. Suspicion and jealousy, -conspicuous traits in the character of southern races, now made -themselves felt. Besides misogynists like Hipponax, Antiphanes, Eubulos -and others began to poison the minds of the people with degrading, -insulting remarks about women and matrimony. As did for instance -Hipponax by saying: “There are only two pleasant days in married life, -the first, when you take your bride in your home, and the second, when -you bury her.”— - -And Eubulos is responsible for the sentence: “Deuce may take him, who -marries a second time! I shall not scold him, that he took his first -wife, as he did not know what was in store for him. But later on he -knows that this evil is woman.”— - -Euripides is responsible for the most degrading comment. He wrote the -following lines: - - “Dire is the violence of ocean waves, - And dire the blast of rivers and hot fires, - And dire is want, and dire are countless things, - But nothing is so dire and dread as woman. - No painting could express her dreadfulness, - No words describe it. If a god made woman - And fashioned her, he was for man the artist - Of woes unnumbered, and his deadly foe!” - -The undermining effect of such remarks was increased by numerous -comedies in which married life was turned to ridicule, and husbands were -depicted as despicable slaves to women. So bye and bye the high -position, formerly held by the female sex, sank to a much lower level. -Their liberty was greatly curtailed, and daughters as well as wifes were -confined to the strict seclusion of the “Gynäkonitis” or women’s -quarters at the back of the house. Here they spent their time with -spinning, weaving, sewing and other female work, not seeing or hearing -much of the outside world. For this reason they were often nicknamed -“the locked up,” or “those reared in the shadow.” As they rarely got out -into the fresh air, they relied greatly on rouge and cosmetics, to hide -their faded complexion. The only interruption in this monotonous life -were the festivals of the various deities, during which they joined the -solemn processions and carried the ceremonial implements and vessels on -their heads. - -As the education of the girls was greatly neglected, and as they -generally married very early, they had no influence whatever on the male -members of the family. They even didn’t appear at table with men, even -with their husbands’ guests in their own homes. But the principal cause -for the decline of woman’s, position and of family life in Hellas was -the rise and growing prevalence of the “heteræ” or courtesans, many of -whom became famous for their fascinating beauty and accomplishments. -Clever in graceful dances, well educated in song, music and in the art -of entertaining, these women, many of whom were natives of foreign -countries, in time became constant guests of the symposiums of prominent -citizens. Far outshining the housewives and their daughters in -gracefulness and wit, they soon won a domineering influence over the all -too susceptible men, many of whom became lost to their own neglected -families. - -The most striking illustration of this is offered by the life of the -famous Athenian statesman Pericles, who fell victim to the charms of -Aspasia, a courtesan born in Miletus, Asia Minor. Her extraordinary -beauty and still more remarkable mental gifts had gained her a wide -reputation, which increased after her association with Pericles. Having -divorced his wife, with whom he had been unhappy, Pericles attached -himself to Aspasia as closely as was possible under the Athenian law, -according to which marriage with a “barbarian” or foreigner was illegal -and impossible. And after the death of his two sons by his lawful wife -he secured the passage of a law, by which the children of irregular -marriages might be rendered legitimate. His son by Aspasia was thus -allowed to assume his father’s name. - -Aspasia enjoyed a high reputation as a teacher of rhetoric. It is said -that she instructed Pericles in this art, and that even Socrates -admitted to have learned very much from her. The house of Aspasia became -the center of the most brilliant intellectual society. Men who were in -the advance guard of Hellenic thought, Socrates and his friends -included, gathered here. - -[Illustration: - - A DANCING LESSON IN THE TEMPLE OF DIONYSOS. - - After a painting by H. Schneider. -] - -Another noted courtesan was Phryne, who by her radiant beauty acquired -so much wealth that she could offer to rebuild the walls of Thebes, -which had been destroyed by Alexander (335 B. C.), on condition that the -restored walls bear the inscription, “Destroyed by Alexander, restored -by Phryne, the hetære.” When the festival of Poseidon was held at -Eleusis, she laid aside her garments, let down her hair and stepped into -the sea in the sight of the people, thus suggesting to Apelles his great -painting of “Aphrodite rising from the sea.” The famous sculptor -Praxiteles too used her as a model for his statue “the Cnidian -Aphrodite,” which Pliny declared to be the most beautiful statue in the -world. - -Anteia, Isostasion, Korinna, Phonion, Klepsydra, Thalatta, Danae, Mania, -Nicarete, Herpyllis, Lamia, Lasthenia, Theis, Bachis and Theodota are -the names of other courtesans, who became widely known for their -relations with prominent men of Hellas and acquired enormous wealth. - -Sappho, the famous poetess, whom Plato dignified with the epithets of -“the tenth Muse,” “the flower of the Graces,” and “a miracle,” most -probably belonged likewise to this class. It is said that she -established in Mytilene a literary association of women of tastes and -pursuits similar to her own, and that these women devoted themselves to -every species of refined and elegant pleasure, sensual and intellectual. -Music and poetry, and the art of love, were taught by Sappho and her -older companions to the younger members of the sisterhood. - -Hierarchical prostitution prevailed in Hellas. It was connected with the -service of Aphrodite, the Greek counterpart of the Babylonian Mylitta. -Strabo states, that in her temple of Corinth more than one thousand -courtesans were devoted to the service of this goddess. The amount of -money, earned by these girls and flowing into the priest’s treasury, was -so enormous that Solon, the great statesman and law maker, envying the -temples for such rich income, founded the Dikterion, a brothel of great -style, the income of which went into the treasury of the state. - -Enticed by the luxurious and easy life of such courtesans, thousands of -young girls chose the same profession and entered the schools, which -were established by many courtesans for the special purpose of giving -instruction in all the arts of seduction. As the legislators, bribed by -heavy tributes, were most liberal in giving concessions to these -institutions as well as to prostitutes and keepers of brothels, public -life became in time thoroughly demoralized. In fact these conditions -were greatly responsible for the final decay and downfall of the whole -Hellenic nation. - -[Illustration] - - - WOMAN AMONG THE ROMANS. - -Among the various nations who in early times occupied the Italian -peninsula, the =Latins=, =Sabines= and =Etruscans= were the most -prominent. That among them barter and the forceful abduction of women -was customary, is indicated by the well-known story of the “Rape of the -Sabine Women” by the original settlers of Rome. - -As the legend runs Romulus and his band of adventurers, having no women -with them, and too poor to buy some from their neighbors, decided in the -fourth month after the foundation of Rome to get wives by resorting to a -stratagem. Accordingly they invited their Sabine neighbors to partake -with their wives and daughters in the celebration of a festival. -Suspecting nothing, the Sabines came and greatly enjoyed the -entertainments provided for them. But in the middle of the feast the -Romans, far outnumbering the unarmed Sabines, rushed upon their maiden -guests and carried them off by force. To avenge themselves, the Sabines -went to war, in which both parties suffered severely. But the fierce -struggle was brought to an end, when the kidnapped girls flung -themselves between the combatants, imploring their fathers and brothers -to become reconciled, as they would like to stay with their Roman -husbands. Their urgent appeals brought not alone peace, but resulted -even in the confederation of the Sabines and Romans. - -It is impossible to say whether this legend rests on actual facts, but -it indicates that the forceful abduction of women was customary in -ancient Italy. Undoubtedly it took many centuries before this drastic -means of securing wives gave way to more peaceful methods. But to remind -people of the intervention by which the women had ended the bloodshed -between Romans and Sabines, the Romans celebrated a festival on the -first of March of each year, called “Matronalia.” It could only be -participated in by women, who went with girdles loose, and on the -occasion received presents from husbands, lovers, and friends. - -Laws were also instituted for the protection of women. Woe to those who -dared to hurt their feelings by disorderly acts or insolent language. -They were brought before the blood-judge, who dealt very severely with -such evil-doers. - -[Illustration: - - THE VESTAL VIRGINS. - - After the painting by H. le Roux. -] - -Like the Greeks the Romans venerated a divine guardian of family life. -Her name was Vesta, “the domestic hearth-fire.” The hearth, around which -the members of the family assembled in the evening, was the place -consecrated to her. Numa Pompilius is said to be the one who erected the -first temple to this goddess in Rome. Round in shape, its center -contained an altar with a fire that was never allowed to be -extinguished. To keep this sacred flame always burning and to offer -daily sacrifices and prayers for the welfare of the state, two virgins -of the noblest families were chosen by the Pontifex maximus or -High-Priest. Afterwards the number of these “Vestal Virgins” was -increased to four, and later to six. Their garments were of spotless -white, with a veil and a fillet round the hair. Strict observance of the -vow of chastity during the thirty years of their term of service was one -of their chief obligations. - -The privileges extended to these virgins were very remarkable. Free from -any paternal control, except that of the Pontifex maximus, they could -dispose by will of their own property. When appearing in a public -procession they were preceded by a number of lictors, who carried with -them the symbols of their judicial office, the fasces, a bundle of -sticks, out of which an axe projected as a sign of sovereign power. -Should it happen that in the street they met a criminal on his way to -execution, they had the prerogative of pardoning him. In theatres, in -the arena, and at other places of amusement the best seats were reserved -for them. They also lived in great splendor; their home, the Atrium -Vestæ, was not only very large, but of the best material and -magnificently decorated. Like the emperors they shared the privilege of -intramural burial. - -With all this esteem, the Vestal Virgin was severely punished if found -guilty of neglecting her duty or violating her vow of chastity. The -latter crime caused the whole city to mourn. While innumerable -sacrifices and prayers were offered up to appease the offended goddess, -preparations were made to punish the priestess as well as her seducer -horribly. The man was scourged to death on the public market; the -unfortunate priestess was placed in a subterranean chamber on the -criminals’ field. After she had been provided with a bed, a lighted -lamp, and some bread and water, the vault was closed, the earth thrown -over it, and the priestess left to die. - -While the “Vestal Virgins” enjoyed many privileges, the Roman women -during the first time of the republic were completely dependent. A -daughter, if unmarried, remained under the guardianship of her father -during his life, and after his death, she came into the control of her -agnates, that is, those of her kinsmen by blood or adoption who would -have been under the power of the common ancestor had he lived. If -married she and her property passed into the power of her husband. -Whatever she acquired by her industry or otherwise while the marriage -lasted fell to her husband as a matter of course. Marriage was a -religious ceremony, conducted by the high priests in the presence of ten -witnesses. Its effect was to dissociate the wife entirely from her -father’s house and to make her a member of her husband’s, provided he -himself had grown to manhood and started a household of his own. If this -was not the case, his wife and their children, as they were born, fell -likewise into the power of the “pater familias,” the father-in-law of -the wife, and the latter was entitled to exercise over his -daughter-in-law and grandchildren the same rights as he had over his -sons and unmarried daughters. - -Of the wife of the “pater-familias” the Romans spoke as the -“mater-familias,” the “housemother,” or as the Domina, “the mistress of -the house,” and she was treated as her husband’s equal. But in spite of -the fact that her position in the family was one of dignity, she could -not make a will or contract, nor could she be a witness or fill any -civil or public office. - -So the life of a Roman woman was one of perpetual servitude. For -centuries she had no control over her own person, no choice in marriage, -no right to her own property, and no recourse against cruelty. Any man -could beat his wife, sell her, or give her to some one else, when he was -tired of her. He could even put her to death, acting as accuser, judge, -jury, and executioner. - -The dependent position of the women changed considerably, when the -Romans came in touch with the Greeks and other nations. Marriage was -made easier. It became even possible, without the sanction of priests or -civil authorities, to conclude an agreement to which men and women might -live together on probation. If such union was kept up without -interruption for one year, then it was considered a regular marriage -with all its consequences. If, however, the two persons concerned wished -to reserve for themselves the right of separation later on, it was only -necessary that the wife should stay in the house of her parents for -three nights before the end of the year. - -There was also perfect freedom in divorce, as it was regarded improper -to force persons to continue in the bonds of matrimony when conjugal -affection no longer existed. - -In later times women secured full right to dispose over their own -property. Either they might manage it personally or have it administered -by a “Procurator.” - -The Greek conception that the presence of women lends charm and luster -to festivals, was adopted by the Romans. As they were convinced that no -entertainment was worth while without the presence of the ladies, -festivals were developed to even a far greater extent than was the case -in Greece. - -This step for the better was due to the greater intelligence of the -Roman women. Recognizing that the vast influence exerted by many -courtesans over the prominent men of Hellas was not due solely to the -beauty and grace of these women, but also to their refinement and -knowledge of literature, music and art, the Roman ladies, to attach -their husbands to their homes, eagerly endeavored to acquire similar -merits. And so they devoted themselves to the culture of everything that -makes life interesting and beautiful. We know the names of many Roman -women, who in this way became real companions of their husbands. Hear, -for instance, what Pliny, the famous naturalist, wrote about Kalpurnia, -his wife, in one of his letters. Having praised her keen intellect, -moderation and affection, he continues: “In addition to these virtues -comes her deep interest in literature. My own books she not only -possesses them, but reads them over and over again, until she knows them -by heart. If I have to give a lecture, she sits close by behind a -curtain, listening eagerly to the appreciation shown to me.” In similar -terms Plutarch speaks of the wives of Pompejus and Kato; Tacitus of the -wife of Agricola, of Cornelia, the mother of the Graches, of Aurelia and -Atia, the mothers of Cæsar and Augustus. - -While such cultured women retained a strong sense of duty towards their -home and family, the influence of Hellas, however, made itself felt also -in other ways. Its universal corruption and immorality had made it easy -for Rome to subjugate the whole country. But during the occupation of -the country the Romans became acquainted with the luxurious life and -lascivious debaucheries in which the rich Greeks indulged in full -disregard of the dreadful distress of the lower classes. Many Roman -officers, consuls and prefects, morally unfit to resist the allurements -of such loose life, fell victims to all sorts of vices and crimes. And -when, after several years, they returned to Italy, they generally took -with them, besides enormous quantities of stolen valuables, numbers of -courtesans and slaves. - -With the expansion of the empire these evils increased accordingly. And -so Rome became finally permeated with foreign elements, manners and -vices. - -Even religious life became demoralized. Not only the voluptuous worship -of Aphrodite or Venus was transplanted to Roman cities, but also the -obscene service of Astarte, the Phœnician goddess of the begetting -agencies. The orgies, committed in the ostentatious temples of these -deities, formed indeed a striking contrast against the chaste worship of -Vesta. - -By all these conditions the life of the Roman women became deeply -affected. The works of contemporary writers abound with complaints about -the growing emancipation of the female sex, the neglect of their duties, -and the ever increasing love of amusement. Comparing the women of his -time with those of former days, Kolumella remarks: “Now, our women are -sunk so deeply in luxury and laziness, that they are not even pleased to -superintend the spinning and weaving. Disdaining home-made goods, they -always seek in their perverted mania to extort from their husbands more -elaborate ones, for which often great sums and even fortunes must be -paid. No wonder that they regard housekeeping as a burden and that they -do not care to stay at their country seats even for a few days. Because -the ways of the former Roman and Sabine housewives are considered -old-fashioned, it is necessary to engage a housekeeper, who takes charge -of the duties of the mistress.” - -Young girls liked to stroll through the shady colonnades of the temples -and through the groves, that surrounded them. Here they met their beaus, -who in the art of flirt were just as cunning as are the Lotharios of -to-day. The ladies of the aristocrats or patricians enjoyed to be -carried about in sedan-chairs, as in these comfortable means of -transportation they had full chance to show themselves to the public -richly dressed and in graceful positions. As these sedan-chairs were -always provided with costly canopies and curtains, and shouldered by -fine-looking Syrian slaves, clad in red and gold, such a sight could not -fail to attract general attention and to become the talk of the town. - -That this mode of shopping and paying calls became a real fashion may be -concluded from a remark of Seneca, who grumbles that those husbands, who -forbid their wives to be carried about and exhibit themselves in such -manner are considered as unpolished and contemptible boors. - -As appears from the works of Juvenal, Sueton, Plutarch, Martial and -others the growing passion for emancipation, notoriety and excitement, -combined with the rage for gossip was responsible for the production of -many unwomanly characters. We hear the complaint that scores of women -boldly intrude into the meetings of men and often compete with them, in -their drinking bouts. These authors also condemn that such females -eagerly mix with officers and soldiers, to discuss with them the details -and events of the war, while others try to spy out all domestic secrets, -only to blab them out again in the street. - -Ovid too expresses his disappointment about the changes going on in the -life of the fair sex. “Disdaining matronly seclusion, our ladies -patronize circus, theatre and arena, eager to see and to be seen. Like -an army of ants or like a swarm of bees they hurry in elaborate attires -to the beloved plays, often in such crowds that I am utterly unable to -guess their numbers.” - -This inordinate greediness for enjoyments grew in time into a real -intoxication of the senses. Nothing indicates this more than the -concentration of all thoughts, of the patricians as well as of the -plebejans, of the men as well as of the women, of the free as well as of -the slaves on the questions which party would win in the public games, -how many hundred gladiators would fight each other, or how many -thousands of wild beasts would be set loose in the arena. - -When we read that such public shows sometimes lasted for weeks and -months, and that all regions of the known world were ransacked in order -to secure some new and more cruel feature, that would set people wild -with excitement, it will be clear that the susceptible mind of women -must have suffered most. And indeed with the increasing degeneration of -social life the female sex became more and more demoralized. As among -the foreign slaves as well as among the freed and enfranchised were many -fine-looking and accomplished persons, unfaithfulness and adultery -increased. Especially among the ladies of the upper classes the “nicely -curled procurator,” who managed the property of such women, served only -too often as a “Cicisbeo,” in which role he figures in many satires and -comedies. Men and women met in the public bath houses as well as in -watering-places like Bajae, an ill-reputed resort, where libertinism and -dissipation flourished, and from which it was said, that no virgin, who -went there, ever returned as a virgin. - -Bajae and Rome were also the places where the mysterious rites of the -Bachanalia found the greatest number of devotees. Originally a festival -in honor of Dionysos, the Greek god of spring and wine, it degenerated -into wild orgies after its introduction to Rome. This is what Livy -writes about it: “The mysterious rites were at first imparted to a few, -but were afterwards communicated to great numbers, both men and women. -To their religious performances were added the pleasures of wine and -feasting, to allure a greater number of proselytes. When wine, -lascivious discourse, night, and the mingling of the sexes had -extinguished every sentiment of modesty, then debaucheries of every kind -were practiced, as every person found at hand that sort of enjoyment to -which he was disposed by the passion most prevalent in his nature. Nor -were they confined to one species of vice, the promiscuous intercourse -of freeborn men and women. From this storehouse of villainy proceeded -false witnesses, counterfeit seals, false evidences, and pretended -discoveries. In the same place, too, were perpetrated secret murders and -other unmentionable infamies. To consider nothing unlawful was the grand -maxim of their religion.” - -[Illustration: - - STREET LIFE IN ROME. - - After a painting by L. Boulanger. -] - -It was in Bajae where Marcellus, the son-in-law of Emperor Augustus, was -poisoned by intriguing Livia; and here Agrippina, the mother of Nero, -was clubbed to death after an attempt by her son to shipwreck and drown -her during a cruise in a magnificent gondola had failed. - -In time adultery, poisoning and murder prevailed among the Roman society -to such an extent, that men became afraid to enter matrimony, and -addicted themselves to illicit intercourse. - -This period of moral degeneration was, however, distinguished by a most -wonderful rise of literature, science and art. At no time before so many -beautiful temples, basilicas, theatres, arenas, public buildings, -palaces and country-seats were erected. And all these buildings were -adorned with an abundance of mosaics, mural paintings and works of -sculpture. There were also numbers of brilliant writers, poets, -dramatists, orators, law-makers and men who made themselves famous as -naturalists or philosophers. - -Of the philosophers the so-called Stoics, among them Seneca, Lucan, -Epictetus and Musonius Rufus formed a school, which exerted a wide and -active influence upon the world at the busiest and most important time -in ancient history. This school was remarkable for its anticipation of -modern ethical conceptions, for the lofty morality of its exhortations -to forgive injuries and overcome evil with good. It also preached the -obligation to universal benevolence on the principle that all men are -brethren. Regarding virtue as the sole end, to be gained mainly by habit -and training, the Stoics furthermore succeeded in reforming matrimonial -life as well as the conceptions about women. In these efforts they were -aided later on by an ethical movement of still greater power, namely -Christianity. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: - - VALKYRIES, THE FAIR MAIDENS OF THE BATTLEFIELDS. -] - - - WOMAN’S POSITION AMONG THE GERMANIC NATIONS. - -Before we consider woman’s position in Christianity, we must take a -glance at her status among another important branch of the Aryan race, -the =Germans=. - -As is familiar to every student of history, the Germans are indebted to -an alien, the Roman Tacitus, for the best account of the character and -manners of their ancestors. In his famous book “Germania” he describes -them as a pure and unmixed race and gives many valuable particulars -about their family life. He says: “Matrimony is the most respected of -their institutions. They are almost the only barbarians who are content -with one wife. Very few among them are exceptions to this rule and then -they do so not for sensuality but for political considerations. The -young men marry late, and their vigor is unimpaired. Nor are the maidens -hurried into marriage. Well-matched and in full health they wed, and -their offspring reproduce the strength of their parents. The wife does -not bring a dowry to the man, but the husband to his bride. These -presents are not trinkets to please female vanity or to serve for -adornment, but on the contrary, they consist of cattle, a bridled horse, -and a shield with sword and spear. While the wife is welcomed with such -gifts, she too presents her husband with a piece of armor. All these -things are held sacred as a mysterious symbol of matrimony. Lest the -wife should think that she is shut out from heroic aspirations and from -the perils of war, she is reminded by the ceremony which inaugurates -marriage that now she is her husband’s partner in his toil as well as in -all danger, and destined to share with him in peace and in war alike. -This is the meaning of the yoked oxen, the bridled horse and the -weapons. And she must live and die with the feeling that the weapons she -has received, have to be handed down untarnished and undepreciated to -her sons, from whom they are to pass to her daughters-in-law, and again -to the grandchildren. - -“So the wife lives under the protection of clean manners, uncorrupted by -the allurements of voluptuous comedies or licentious festivals. -Clandestine communication by letters is absolutely unknown. Adultery -among this numerous people is exceedingly rare. Its punishment is left -to the husband and quickly executed. In the presence of her relatives -the guilty woman is kicked out of the house, naked and with her hair -cut. And thus she is whipped through the whole village. Loss of chastity -finds no excuse. Neither beauty nor youth nor wealth wins the culprit a -husband, because no one indulges in vice or pardons seduction. Blessed -the country where only virgins enter matrimony and where their vow to -the husband is binding and final for all time. As they are born only -once so are they married but once and they devote themselves to their -husband as well as to the duties of matrimony. To limit the number of -children or to kill one of them is regarded as a sacrilege. Thus good -habits accomplish more here than good laws in other countries.” - -Tacitus as well as other Roman writers state likewise that the women -frequently accompanied the men in times of war and encouraged them in -battle by their cheers and actions. “They always stay near them, so that -the warriors may hear the voices of their wives and the wailing of their -children. Women’s approval and praise is to the men of the highest -value. To their mothers and wives they come with their wounds for -relief, and the women do not hesitate to count the gashes, and dress the -wounds. The women also encourage the men while they are fighting, and -provide them with food and water. We have been told that wavering battle -lines were made to stand fast by women, who with bare breasts mingled -with the warriors and admonished them by their cries to new -resistance.”— - -[Illustration: - - A BETROTHAL AMONG THE ANCIENT GERMANS. - - After a painting by F. Leeke. -] - -Many of the names given to members of the fair sex, indicate the men’s -great respect for women, and show that they were considered as able -consorts even in battle. The names Daghilt, Sneburga, Swanhilt and -Sunnihilt remind us of the purity of the daylight, the white of the snow -and the swan, and the gold of the sunshine. And the qualities of -strength, agility and skill in everything connected with war and victory -we find in names like Hildegund, “the protectoress of the home”; -Hadewig, “the mistress of battle”; Gertrud, “the thrower of the spear”; -Gudrun, “the expert in war”; Thusinhilde or Thusnelda, “the giant -fighter”; Sieglind, “the shield of victory”; Brunhild, “she who is -strong like a bear,” and in many other names. - -The many noble female personages who figure in German mythology also -testify to the high conception the Germans had of womanhood. There was -Frigg, the spouse of Odin, and the ideal personification of a German -housewife. There was Freya, the goddess of spring, beauty and love; -Gerda, the bright consort of Fro, the sun god; Sigune, the faithful; not -to forget the Valkyries, those beautiful maidens who hovered over the -field of battle, wakened the dead heroes with a kiss and carried them on -their swift cloud horses to Valhalla, where they were welcomed and -feasted by the gods and enjoyed all kinds of martial games. - -The Germans saw in women also something that was sacred and prophetic. -It was this belief that lent importance to Veleda, Alruna, and other -prophetesses, who were looked up to as oracles, and played a conspicuous -part during the time of the Roman invasion. - - - THE HEROIC WOMEN OF THE BRITONS AND THE NORSEMEN. - -The same noble spirit that distinguished the German women, was likewise -found among the females of =Britain= and =Scandinavia=. Tacitus in his -“Annals” XIV gives an account of Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, a tribe -that occupied the eastern coasts of Britain. To defend the independence -of her country against the Romans, this queen succeeded in uniting some -of the British tribes and drove the invaders from several fortified -places. When Suetonius, on hearing of the revolt, hastened up with a -strong army, he found himself opposed by large numbers of the -aborigines, men as well as women. Among the fighters were many -priestesses or Druids, who, clothed in black, with streaming hair and -brandished torches, fought like furies. When they saw themselves far -outnumbered and realized that all was lost, these women preferred death -to slavery and perished among the flames, which destroyed their -stronghold. - -When the Roman legions met the main body of the Britons, they beheld -Boadicea admonishing her warriors, to conquer or die in battle. In the -fearful contest 70,000 Romans and 80,000 Britons were slain. But when -the combat resulted in the complete defeat of the latter, Boadicea -poisoned herself to avoid falling into the hands of the victor. - -The Edda and many other sagas of the Scandinavians contain likewise -accounts about heroic women such as they were in those days of the past: -strong in body as in mind, and equal to any emergency. Brave alike in -heart and in character, independent, open and frank, they were loyal to -their husbands and their duty when fitly matched. Fearlessly they joined -in the daring expeditions of their sea-kings, who packed their -“dragon-ships” to full capacity with warriors and made raids on all the -coasts of Europe, even on the countries that border the Mediterranean -Sea. - -From several interesting relics of old Icelandic literature we also know -that as early as in 986 A. D. Norse women went with Eric the Red to -Greenland. Here they helped in establishing a settlement, Brattahlid. -And when in 1007 Thorfin Karlsefne sailed from this place to Vinland, -some newly discovered country in the far Southwest, he too was -accompanied by several women, among them his wife Gudrid. Some time -after her arrival she gave birth to a son, Snorre, the first child of -white parentage born on American soil. - -Another of these fearless women, Froejdisa, took active part in a hot -skirmish with the aborigines of Vinland. When the Norsemen were about to -yield to the overwhelming numbers of these “Skraelings,” it was she who -encouraged the men to stubborn resistance. Several years later, in 1012, -this same resolute woman, in company with two men, fitted out an -expedition of her own to Vinland. After an absence of one year she -returned to Brattahlid with a large cargo of valuable lumber, furs, and -other goods, but also suspected of having killed her partners as well as -their men with her own hands. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: - - CHRISTIANS OF THE THIRD CENTURY. -] - - - WOMAN AMONG THE EARLY CHRISTIANS. - -Just at the time, when the capitals of Hellas and Rome were reservoirs -for all the streams of wickedness and infamy, there originated in -Palestine a religious sect destined to exercise an enormous influence -upon the moral and political life of the world. Its adherents called -themselves =Christians=, “the Annointed,” and followed the doctrines of -Jesus, who, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, was condemned -for his teachings by Pilate, the Roman governor of Judæa, and crucified. - -As Jesus left no records or gospels written by himself, we do not know -his personal views about woman, home, marriage, and maternity. We must -rely on the accounts which were written by his followers many years -after his death, and now are called the New Testament. After the death -of Jesus some of his followers drifted from Palestine to Syria, Greece -and Rome, where for their pure and austere morals they attracted the -attention of numerous persons who stood aghast in views of the vices -that surrounded them. - -For the spread of a new religion such as Christianity, the Roman world -was wonderfully ripe. As it had been the politics of Rome not to -interfere with the religions of the peoples subdued by her armies, there -had been added to the already overcrowded pantheon of Rome many of the -principal deities of the conquered nations. But there existed also a -longing for some religion, which would have more individuality and -personal power in it then were supplied by the thoughts of a supreme -spiritual fate, or by the mere materialistic conception of the genius of -Rome. There was a decided thirst for information about sacred things. -Men discussed the claims of the various conflicting religions -philosophically, and amid all the gross materialism of the time there -were longings for some deeper, truer religion than any they had known. - -This longing was satisfied by the simple but sublime conceptions of God -held by the Christians, and also by the noble purity of their life. -These Christians had no settled form of doctrine, no settled rule of -discipline, no body of magistrates. They were merely an association of -believers in a common faith, with common sentiments, feelings, emotions -and convictions. To women this new religion was particularly appealing, -as it preached many important reforms. First of all, it granted to woman -the full right of disposing of herself. By making her consent necessary -for marriage, woman remained no longer a piece of property, which might -be sold or disposed of at will by the father, brother, husband or other -relatives. She also was not compelled any more to accommodate, with her -own body, some visiting strangers. There was no hierarchical -prostitution, either, but matrimony was elevated to a sacred ceremony, -of which the benediction of a priest formed a necessary part. Chastity -was regarded a supreme law, which governed the whole family life. - -The majority of these Christians consisted of poor illiterate people, -who tried to lead a clean and honest life. Their simple manners and -frugal habits contrasted strongly with the luxury of those Greek and -Roman patricians among whom they dwelt. They regarded such extravagance -with contempt, and the unlimited emancipation and licentiousness of the -rich women filled them with horror. - -Accordingly they applied to themselves strict rules which would protect -them against any temptation. For this reason their women never adorned -themselves with jewelry or gaudy dresses of dyed cloth, silk, and -embroideries; they never wore false or colored hair. If married, they -took care of the house, attended to the children, and were devoted to -their husbands, whom they respected as the head of the family. The only -occasion for their going out was when they went to church, or to visit -some poor or sick neighbor. - -Depending on one another, husband and wife endeavored to form that union -recommended by the scriptures as the goal of married life. - -Such happy nuptial ties inspired Tertullian, a Carthaginian, who came in -contact with Christians in Rome, to the following lines: “Whence are we -to find language adequate to describe the happiness of that marriage -which the church cements and the oblation confirms, and the benediction -signs and seals, which angels report and the Father holds as ratified? -Together they pray, together prostrate themselves, together they perform -their fasts, mutually teaching, mutually exhorting, mutually -sustaining.” - -Commemorations of conjugal happiness, and commendations of such female -virtues as modesty, chastity, prudence and diligence, we also frequently -find in many sepulchral inscriptions of the Catacombs, those famous -subterranean cemeteries excavated by the early Christians of Rome for -the express and sole purpose of burying their dead. There are -inscriptions as for instance: “Our well deserving father and mother, who -lived together (for 20, 30, 50 or even 60 years) without any complaint -or quarrel, without taking or giving offense.” - -During the first centuries of Christianity women took a prominent part -in all affairs of the church and they were allowed to be active wherever -there was a chance to spread the Gospel. In particular, they taught the -children, took charge of the orphans, and acted as door-keepers in the -assembly rooms, directing the worshipers to their places, and seeing -that all behaved quietly and reverently. - -The new sect, which in every respect contrasted so strongly with Roman -customs and conceptions, could not fail to attract the attention and -inquisitiveness of the people as well as of the Government. But also -suspicion and hostility were aroused. As the Christians met secretly in -private houses, people suspected that they were conspirators banded -together for criminal purposes, that they occasionally slaughtered -infants, poured their blood into a cup, and that passing this cup around -they all drank of it. Their insistance in only one God, that of the -despised Jews, and their aim to discredit and overthrow all other creeds -of the world in order to fuse all mankind in their own faith, were -decried as contempt of those deities, under which Rome had become great -and prosperous. Naturally, their enmity against these deities was -regarded as enmity against the State, which stood under the protection -of these deities. Accused of being apostates and revolutionists, the -Christians soon enough became the objects of much bitter persecution; -such as has been described by Sienkiewicz in his famous book “Quo -Vadis.” - -During these persecutions the Christian women shared with their -husbands, children and brothers all the horrible cruelties Roman -ingenuity could invent. In the arena they were thrown before lions, -tigers, bears and other savage beasts. They were crucified, or besmeared -with pitch and publicly burned. Worst of all, many of those women who -regarded chastity as their highest virtue, were handed over to the -keepers of brothels and made victims to the voluptuous passions of the -lowest class of people. - -But in time the pure and noble ideals which inspired the hearts of those -first Christians, began to appeal to the masses of the people. The -scriptures of the great apologists Tertullian, Justin, Origenes and -others were read and studied with growing interest. And when later on -Emperor Constantine, surnamed the Great, for motives of political -expediency, favored and adopted the new faith, the triumph of -Christianity was secured. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: - - ARABIC WOMEN IN ANCIENT TIMES. -] - - - WOMAN AMONG THE MOHAMMEDANS. - -While thus the followers of Christ reformed the position of woman in the -Roman empire, Mohammed, the founder of Islam or Mohammedanism, at the -same time endeavored to better the condition of woman in the Orient. -Born about the year 570 A. D. in Arabia he recognized, that the domestic -life of the Arabs was marked by many embarrassing improprieties. -Polygamy was customary everywhere, and while among the rich people the -wife was nothing but a toy, for no other purpose but to satisfy passion, -among the poorer classes she was merely a suppressed slave, who could be -sent away, when she was no longer young, or had lost her good looks, or -had become unable to work. Concubinage and prostitution prevailed among -the population of the cities as well as among the Bedouins, who led the -same nomadic life as had the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob several -thousand years ago. - -To improve the position of woman, Mohammed inserted in the Koran, his -great moral codex, a number of instructions, which shine forth like gold -threads in the fabric of a beautiful curtain. He ordered the men to -treat their wives with forbearance and respect, as was becoming in the -stronger toward the weaker sex. Children were impressed to give love and -comfort to their parents to the end of their days and show them the -highest reverence. - -To diminish polygamy and to give women a secure legal standing, Mohammed -also reduced the number of lawful wives to four, and allowed this number -to such men only as were wealthy enough to provide for certain comforts. -Furthermore, he placed the men under the obligation, to be faithful to -their wives and treat all with equal kindness. - -[Illustration: - - VEILED. -] - -To protect women from the many temptations of too close a social -intercourse with men, Mohammed took pains to exclude women as much as -possible from contact with the outer world. Therefore he insisted on the -strict observance of the ancient Oriental custom that women must not -appear in the streets or in presence of other men than their husbands -except with their faces heavily veiled. This order has been observed in -all Mohammedan countries up to the present day. Only slaves and peasant -women are allowed to go unveiled, as the veil would hinder them at work. -Therefore, outsiders can study the features of Mohammedan women only -from members of the lower classes. To find out who is who among the -veiled females seen in the streets of oriental cities is impossible even -for their own husbands. - -About the domestic life of Mohammedan women during former centuries we -know practically nothing, as reliable reports by disinterested observers -are wanting. But the fact that Mohammedan homes and family life were -always secluded from the external world and inaccessible to Christian -explorers travelling through oriental countries, rendered the subject -peculiarly liable to highly exaggerated and sensational reports. -Especially the life in the “Harem,” the women’s quarter, has been -pictured innumerable times as a combination of boundless luxuriance, -lascivity, frivolity, laziness and intrigues. In contradiction several -ladies, who had a chance to study Mohammedan life during the last -century, have asserted, that these reports do not, by any means, -correspond with the truth. There is for instance an essay of Else -Marquardsen about the manners of the Turks, in which she discusses -polygamy. She says: “Throughout the course of many years I was allowed -to visit the homes of many prominent people as well as of the poorer -classes, but I remember only one case, where a man, a high official, had -more than one wife. As a rule I found in all families a spirit of quiet -faithfulness to duty, such as it is not always the case among us. The -women, often compelled to live together with the mother or other female -relatives of their husbands, maintain a good-natured kindness toward -each other, which is really solacing and knows no exception. The great -devotion, shown to the mother by her son as well as by his wife, and -which makes her the most respected member of the whole family, is an -education in humility and self-control, the results of which fill one -with admiration. As the life of the Mohammedan woman, of which her -husband forms the center, is one of repose and seclusion, so she retains -a child-like disposition of sentiment which is indeed touching. Unlike -as it is with us, she is reared in full knowledge of the natural -destination of woman. As soon as she has developed from childhood to -womanhood, she is offered to a man, unknown to her, but whom she -respects as the god-sent medium to impart the sacred mystery by which -she may become a mother. As he gives her the crown of life, she honors -him as her lord. But if it should be her fate to remain barren, then she -does as Sarah, Leah and Rachel did several thousand years ago; she goes -to find another woman, by whom her husband may have children.” - -The marriageable age for Mohammedan girls is about twelve, sometimes -less and sometimes more, and the preliminaries are entirely a business -matter conducted by the nearest relatives with much ceremony. After a -definite contract is made it is then that the bride is permitted to see -and speak to her future husband. - -[Illustration: - - A MOHAMMEDAN WOMAN OF MOROCCO. -] - -According to an article by Broughton Brandenburg about the district of -Biskra, the night before the wedding the bride’s hands and feet are -steeped in henna, with which are stained the nails of all women who make -any pretense of keeping up appearances. When the day comes on which the -bride is to go to the house of her husband she is arrayed in rich robes; -on her arms and ankles are bracelets, and about her slender waist she -wears a corded girdle holding in place a broad plate of gold, silver and -turquoise, usually an heirloom of great age and rare workmanship. The -spangled bridal veil is cast over her head and she is led to the door by -her parents and given over to a company of joyous friends, hired -musicians and guests who parade through the streets beating the rawhide -tambourines and cymbals, dancing and shouting. So the tumultuous pageant -winds its way to the house of the groom, where the happy child takes off -the girdle and plate, and hands them to her husband with a deep -obeisance. After that, feasting and merry-making follow, and last as -long as the bridegroom keeps his purse open.— - -But the great restrictions to which, for her own protection, the -Mohammedan woman was subjected by the Koran, also caused some great -disadvantages. Neither Mohammed nor his successors had a proper -appreciation of the dignity, the many possibilities and the real mission -of woman. Regarding her chiefly as the medium for the propagation of the -race, they neglected her intellectual life. In consequence she never -had, in her strict seclusion, a chance to develop her mental qualities. -Unable to read books and hearing nothing of the events of the outer -world, she remained in the state of semi-slavery, never attaining the -high position reached by many Christian women of to-day, namely that of -being a real consort to the husband. - -So the very best influence of woman was wanting. And as in time polygamy -and concubinage increased again among many Mohammedan nations, the men -became enervated and unable to resist hostile assaults. - -The most striking example is that of the Moors. After having conquered -large parts of Northern Africa as well as of Spain, they were expelled -again from Europe during the 15th Century. The charming Alhambra at -Granada, the Alcazars of Seville and Toledo, the magnificent mosque at -Cordova still preach the past glory of their former empire. But while we -wander through the elaborate rooms, that once were occupied by the women -of the califs and sultans, we cannot resist the conviction that these -splendid halls were but golden cages for beautiful creatures, whose -wings had been clipped. - -[Illustration] - - - - - Women During the Middle Ages. - - -[Illustration: - - A NOBLEWOMAN OF THE 16TH CENTURY. -] - - - WOMEN DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. - -From the accounts, given by Tertullian and other writers about the life -of the early Christians, it appears that their conceptions in regard to -women gave promise for a better future. But during the Middle Ages, -which extend from the downfall of Rome to the discovery of America, -Christianity unfortunately failed to realize these promises. - -First of all the ancient Oriental prejudice against women again took -hold of the minds of many Christian leaders. Instead of making -themselves champions of women’s rights and interests, they curtailed -women’s influence in order to subject them to the dominion of their -husbands. In these efforts the “Christian Fathers” complied with those -commands that Paul the Apostle had given in several of his epistles to -the Corinthians, Philippians, and to Timothy. They read as follows: - -“The head of every man is Christ, and the head of every woman is the -man, and the head of Christ is God. For the man is not of the woman but -the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman but the -woman for the man.”— - -“Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted -unto them to speak but they are commanded to be under obedience. And if -they would learn anything let them ask their husbands at home.” - -“Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a -woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in -silence.”— - -These narrow views destroyed the beneficial influence of woman in -Christian lands and retarded her emancipation for more than eighteen -hundred years. Approving of Paul’s commands, Ambrose, one of the eminent -lights of the Church in the Fourth Century, said, to demonstrate the -inferiority of woman: “Remember that God took a rib out of Adam’s body, -not a part of his soul, to make her!” Another of these leaders made the -name “Eve” synonymous with “deceiver,” accusing woman of having been the -cause of men’s expulsion from Paradise. St. John Chrysostom wrote: -“Woman is the source of evil, the author of sin, the gate of the tomb, -the entrance to hell, the cause of all our misfortunes.” And St. John of -Damascus told the world, that “woman is an evil animal, a hideous worm -which makes its home in the heart of man.” Other teachers agreed with -Paul that woman must veil her head because she is not, as is man, in -God’s image! - -In face of such vicious promulgations we must not be surprised that -among the discussions of the early “Fathers” none was more important -than that, “has woman a soul?” This question was argued in the Sixth -Century at the Council of Macon. It is also recorded that a few of these -pious leaders entertained the opinion that because of the great power -and goodness of the Almighty “women may possibly be permitted to rise as -men at the resurrection.” And the Council of Auxerre, held in the Sixth -Century, decided that women should wear gloves before they touched the -holy sacrament. - -As at the same time ascetic thinkers impressed the minds of the -Christians with an inordinate estimate of the virtue of celibacy, -conceptions of matrimony also changed considerably. While marriage was -not condemned, it was, however, regarded as an inferior state, and it -was held, that persons who had not married, but remained pure, were -nobler and more exalted beings than those who had married. With the -advance of such ascetic ideas a large family came to be regarded almost -as a disgrace, as a proof of lasciviousness.— - -All these doctrines of woman’s inferiority in time corroded the ideas of -the Christian nations about woman to such a degree that her position in -the religious service as well as in law and in all the customs of the -early Middle Ages sank to a very low level. - -Another reason for the failure of Christianity in regard to woman’s -emancipation was that the minds of the leaders of the Church became -occupied by aims which to realize seemed to them of far greater value -and importance. - -The early Christian communities had been simple associations of -believers in a common faith. They had no settled form of doctrine or -rules of discipline. They even had no body of magistrates. But the -moment these associations began to advance and became a corporation, -they started to mould a form of doctrine. At the same time the elders, -who taught and preached, and morally governed the congregation, became -priests, while those, who did service as overseers or inspectors, became -bishops. - -Among the latter the bishops of Rome adopted not only the title of -Pontiff or High-Priest, but also assumed dictatorship over the bishops -of all other dioceses. Professing to be of divine appointment and the -representative of Christ they claimed in his name authority over all -things, both temporal and spiritual. Accordingly they made the -propagation of the Christian faith throughout the world their chief -mission and organized for this purpose an army of clerical dignitaries, -who held themselves responsible to no other authority but the Pontiff or -Pope, to whom they were bound by the strongest vows. Also numerous -orders of monks and nuns were established, who assisted greatly in the -extension and strengthening of the Church. - -The influence on human progress and culture of these vast religious -armies has always been greatly overrated. No doubt, under the management -of the monasteries and nunneries large tracts of virgin soil and forests -were cultivated, and that architecture and art, as long as they served -the interests of the Church, were patronized. But it is equally true -that the Church tried to prevent its followers from thinking -independently, that great masses of people, particularly those of the -rural districts, were held in strict servitude and mental bondage, and -that education and science were grossly neglected. Any attempts to -question the authority of the Church or the truth of the Scriptures, -were cursed as heresy and punished with death. - -Among the first who had to suffer the wrath of the Popes, were the -Waldenses, Albigenses, Stedingers, and several other Christian sects, -which during the 9th, 10th and 11th Centuries had formed in various -parts of Europe for no other object than the re-establishment of the -simplicity and sincerity of the early Christian communities. As these -sects were found at variance with the rules of the Church, they were -decried as heretical, and almost extinguished. - -Intolerant against all other creeds, the Popes also opened a series of -wars against the Mohammedans, professedly for the purpose of delivering -the “Holy Land” from the dominion of the “Infidels.” Aside from these -“Crusades” a similar war was directed against the most western branch of -the Mohammedans, the Moors, who had occupied a large part of the Iberian -Peninsula. These struggles ended in 1492 with the fall of Granada and -the surrender of the famous fortress Alhambra. While in the treaty of -peace certain stipulated privileges had been granted to the conquered, -one of which provided for free exercise of their religion, this liberty -of worship was treacherously withdrawn in 1499 and the Moors either -killed, expelled, or made Christians by forcible baptism. Those who -survived by intermingling with the Spaniards produced a new race, the -Andalusians, famous for their graceful women. The Spaniards adopted many -of the Moorish manners and institutions, among them certain restrictions -in the intercourse of the two sexes. Writers of the 15th Century state, -that in these times the Spanish women used to sit in Oriental fashion, -with legs crossed, on carpets and cushions, spending their time with -embroideries and gossip, or telling the beads of the rosary. The -husbands seldom sought their company, and even preferred to take their -meals alone. Married ladies were not allowed to receive male visitors, -and if their husbands brought friends along, they hardly dared to lift -their eyes. The only breaks in this monotonous life were occasional -calls by women friends, who were received with the greatest possible -display of dress and jewelry. This unnatural segregation of the sexes -still prevails in Spain to some extent and is chiefly due to the -jealousy of men. Well aware of their own unfaithfulness and great -inclination for love-adventures, they have no confidence in their wives -either, but always watch them with suspicion. - -We find similar conditions in many other parts of Southern Europe. But -as restrictions are always apt to breed intrigues we hear everywhere of -plots and love-affairs, such as Boccaccio has related in his -“Decamerone.” The stories of this famous book, which was written between -1344 and 1350, without question are based on actual events, frequently -among the fashionable ladies and gentlemen of the age. - - * * * * * - -Far higher than in Southern Europe was the status of women in those -countries occupied by nations of Germanic stock. - -At the time of Tacitus the Germans had no settlements, but lived in -isolated dwellings on the river banks or clearings in the majestic -forests. With the migration of the nations, however, caused by the -enormous pressure of vast Mongolian hordes upon the tribes of Eastern -and Central Europe, the Germans were compelled to abandon this mode of -life. For security’s sake they gathered together in villages and cities. -These they surrounded with heavy walls and towers, and protected them by -castles, erected on steep cliffs and mountains. - -The custody of these strongholds was entrusted to the most efficient -warriors, who in time formed a separate class, the nobility, from which -the heads of the whole nation, the princes, kings and emperors were -chosen. The inhabitants of the cities formed the class of burghers, who -devoted themselves to the trades and handicrafts. There was a third -class, made up of the people remaining in the rural districts, the -peasants. - -Of course the positions of the women of these various classes differed -widely. While the women of the peasants and craftsmen were busy with the -functions of their every day’s work, the women-folk of the rich -merchants and the nobility had ample time to cultivate everything that -makes life worth while. With blissful hearts they took part in all -pleasures and festivals. And with the same feeling they accepted the -tokens of respect and admiration, extended to them by the knights as -well as by the many minstrels and troubadours, who travelled throughout -the country to entertain with their songs of love, adventure and heroism -all who liked to listen. - -Many songs of the 12th and the 13th Century express the high esteem of -their authors for women. They also prove that the so-called -“Minnedienst” of the German and French knights was to a great extent an -ideal tribute and consisted chiefly in a restrained longing of the -heart, in a pure remembrance of the beloved one. - -One of the best known rhymes dates from 1120 and reads as follows: - - Du bist min, ih bin din: - des solt du gewis sin. - du bist beslozzen - in minem herzen; - verlorn ist das sluzzelin: - du musst immer darinne sin. - - Thou art mine, I am thine! - Pray, what could be just as fine? - Thou art enclosed - Within my heart; - The key is lost, so, as it were— - Thou must now stay forever there. - -[Illustration: - - THE WELCOME TO A TROUBADOUR. - - After a painting by B. Bruene. -] - -Among the most beautiful poems, written in praise of women, we also find -the “May-song” of Walter von der Vogelweide. In modern German it reads -as follows: - - “Wenn die Blumen aus dem Grase dringen, - Gleich als lachten sie hinauf zur Sonne - Des Morgens früh an einem Maientag, - Und die kleinen Vöglein lieblich singen - Ihre schönsten Weisen, welche Wonne - Böt’ wohl die Welt, die mehr ergötzen mag, - Ist’s doch wie im Himmelreiche. - Fragt ihr, was sich dem vergleiche, - So sag’ ich was viel wohler noch - Des öftern meinen Augen tat, - Und immer tut, erschau ich’s noch: - Denkt ein edles schönes Fräulein schreite - Wohlgekleidet und bekränzt hernieder - Unter Leuten froh sich zu ergehen, - Hochgemut im höfischen Geleite. - Züchtig um sich blickend und durch Anmut glänzend, - Wie Sonne unter Sternen anzusehen. - Welche Wonne käme gleich - Solchen Weibes Huldgestalt? - Der Mai mit allen Wundergaben - Kann doch nichts so wonnigliches haben - Als ihren minniglichen Leib. - Wir lassen alle Blumen steh’n - Und blicken nach dem werten Weib.” - - When from the sod the flowerets spring, - And smile to meet the sun’s bright ray, - When birds their sweetest carols sing, - In all the morning pride of May, - What lovelier than the prospects there? - Can earth boast anything more fair? - To me it seems an almost heaven, - So beauteous to my eyes that vision bright is given. - - But when a lady chaste and fair, - Noble, and clad in rich attire, - Walks through the throng with gracious air, - As sun that bids the stars retire,— - Then where are all thy boastings, May? - What hast thou beautiful and gay, - Compared with that supreme delight? - We leave the loveliest flowers, and watch that lady bright. - -[Illustration: - - A LADY’S ROOM DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. - - After a drawing by F. A. Kaulbach. -] - -Another German poet of the 13th Century was Heinrich von Meissen, better -known under the name “Frauenlob.” This sobriquet he received because he -sang much in praise of women, as for instance: - - “O Frau, du selten reicher Hort, - Dass ich zu dir hie sprech’ aus reinem Munde. - Ich lob’ sie in des Himmels Pfort’; - Ihr Lob zu End’ ich nimmer bringen kunnte. - Dess lob’ ich hier die Frauen zart mit Rechten, - Und wo im Land ich immer fahr’ - Muss stets mein Herz für holde Frauen fechten.” - -And at another time he sings: - - “Ich lob’ die Frau für des Spiegel’s Wonne: - Dem Manne bringt sie grosse Freud’; - Recht als die klare Sonne - Durchleucht’ den Tag zu dieser Zeit, - Also erfreut die Frau des Mann’s Gemüte”— - -When in 1318 he died, in Mayence, the women of that city, in -appreciation of his devotion to their cause, carried his coffin solemnly -to the cathedral, in the cloisters of which he was buried. - -One of the most beautiful love-songs ever written dates from 1350. -Having outlasted the centuries it is still sung and appreciated to-day -wherever German is spoken. - - Ach wie ist’s möglich dann - Dass ich dich lassen kann, - Hab dich von Herzen lieb, - Das glaube mir. - - Du hast die Seele mein - So ganz genommen ein - Dass ich kein’ and’re lieb’ - Als dich allein. - - Blau blüht ein Blümelein, - Das heisst Vergiss-nicht-mein; - Dies Blümlein leg’ an’s Herz - Und denk’ an mich. - - Wär ich ein Vögelein, - Bald wollt’ ich bei dir sein; - Fürcht’ Falk’ und Habicht nicht, - Flög’ gleich zu dir. - - Schöss’ mich ein Jäger tot, - Fiel ich in deinen Schoss; - Sähst du mich traurig an, - Gern stürb’ ich dann. - - How can I leave thee so? - How can I bear to go? - That thou hast all my heart: - Trust me, mine own! - - Thou hast this heart of mine - So closely bound to thine - None other can I love - But thee alone. - - Blue is a floweret, - ’Tis called Forget-me-not, - Wear it upon thy heart - And think of me! - - Flower and hope may die, - Rich, dear, are you and I, - Our love can’t pass away, - Sweetest, believe. - - If I a bird could be, - Soon would I speed to thee, - Falcon nor hawk I’d fear - Flying to thee. - - When by the fowler slain - I in thy lap should lie, - Thou sadly shouldst complain, - Gladly I’d die. - -How deep-seated the respect for woman was among the German people in -those times is also shown by the reception extended to Isabella, the -sister of King Henry II. of England. When in 1235 she arrived at -Cologne, to become the bride of Emperor Frederick II. ten thousand -citizens, headed by all the clergy in full ornate, went out to greet her -with joyful songs. While all the bells were ringing, children and young -girls bestrewed the bride’s path with flowers. - -From Cologne the bride went by boat up the River Rhine to Castle -Stolzenfels. Here she was met by the Emperor, who received his betrothed -on bended knee. From there both went to Worms, where the wedding was -celebrated with extraordinary splendor.— - -[Illustration: - - A BRIDAL PARTY. - - After a painting by L. Herterich. -] - -Among the nobility as well as among the patricians weddings were great -feasts, which extended over weeks and to which all relatives and friends -from near and far were invited. After the priest had given his blessing -to the young couple, the servants prepared the banquet table. Bridegroom -and bride, occupying the place of honor, sat side by side on the -beautiful bridal chair, eating and drinking from the same plate and the -same goblet, to indicate, that now they regarded themselves as one soul -and one body. - -If the young couple belonged to the nobility, the bridegroom led his -bride to his castle in a pompous cavalcade. A number of shield-bearers, -bedecked with flowers and ribbons, rode ahead, followed by a band of -musicians and singers. Then came the bridal pair on horseback, as well -as the parents of the bride, and the attendants. Such a cavalcade was -hailed everywhere, especially in those villages which belonged to the -dominion of the young nobleman. At the gate of the castle, however, the -parents of the bridegroom and all the other inhabitants of the castle -were waiting to welcome the new mistress with all honor. - -It must be said emphatically, that the great respect paid to their women -by the Germans was indeed well deserved. For the majority of the German -women were not merely good housekeepers, affectionate wives and loving -mothers, but at the same time patronesses of everything that is -beautiful. It was for them, that the homes became comfortable and -artistic, as most of those exquisitely carved chests, buffets, tables, -chairs and beds, which are now the show-pieces of our museums, were -ordered by rich women fond of art. They adorned the cupboards of their -cozy and paneled rooms with costly vessels of crystal and silver; they -covered the floors with fine rugs and hung the walls with tapestries, -etchings and paintings of famous masters. - -This taste for the beautiful would not allow the exterior of the houses -to be neglected. Carvings, paintings and flowers were seen everywhere; -even the most insignificant objects, such as the weather-vanes on the -roof, and the brass-knockers on the doors were ornamented. - -[Illustration] - - - THE GLORIOUS TIME OF THE RENAISSANCE. - -The close contact which, during the middle ages, existed between Germany -and Italy also secured better conditions for the women of the latter -country. The most remarkable change came, however, during the 14th and -the 15th centuries, with that remarkable intellectual revolution known -as the Renaissance. - -This movement, one of the most significant in the evolution of woman, -originated in Italy at a time when the whole country was suffering from -ecclesiastic and feudal despotism. It was then that men and women of -high standing, striving for greater spiritual freedom, became attracted -by the almost forgotten works of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Seneca, -Cicero, and other authors of the classic past. It is to the glory of -Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and other poets of Italy to have revived -interest in these literary treasures. Eager to unlock these rich stores -of beauty and wisdom, they collected the precious manuscripts and -established libraries and museums for their preservation. - -Many noblemen, patricians and merchant-princes, inspired by this sacred -thirst for learning, and being aware that this effort was made in behalf -of the emancipation of enslaved intelligence, aided the movement by -their wealth. The art of printing with movable types, invented in 1450 -by Johannes Gutenberg in Mayence, and introduced into Italy, France and -Spain by German printers, made it possible to reproduce what the -collectors had recovered. So learning remained no longer the pursuit of -monks and recluses only, but became fashionable and pervaded all -classes. Professors of classic literature and of humanism began to -journey from city to city, opening schools and lecture-rooms, or taking -engagements as tutors in the families of the princes, noblemen, and -wealthy merchants. - -The universities, founded at Bologna, Padua, Salerno and various other -places, gave special attention to classical education and humanism. And, -strange to say, all these schools and universities admitted women on -equal terms with men. The number of women, who availed themselves of -this privilege, may have been small, but evidently the way was clear. -There were even several ladies, who acquired the degrees of doctor and -professor of Greek language and literature, or of civil and canon law. -Among these learned women were =Britisia Gozzadina=, who held a chair in -the university of Bologna; and =Olympia Morata=, who, with her German -husband, came to Heidelberg, where the chair for Greek at the university -was offered to her. - -It was this revival of antique learning, art and science, and its -application to the literature of the 16th Century, that shattered the -narrow mental barriers imposed by mediæval orthodoxy. - -The stimulating movement met with full success, when a number of Italian -princesses, in sincere enthusiasm, took the leadership. Among these -ladies were =Elisabeth Gonzaga=, Duchess of Urbino; =Isabella d’Este=, -Marchioness of Mantua; =Caterina Sforza=, Countess of Forli; =Veronica -Gambara=, Countess of Corregio; =Lucrezia Borgia=, Duchess of Ferrara; -the poetess =Lucrezia Tornabuoni= of Florence, and =Cassandra Fidelis=, -“the pride and glory of Venice.” But above all stood the famous -=Vittoria Colonna=, Marchioness Pescara, one of the most wonderful women -of these great times. - -Ariosto said of her: “She has more eloquence and breathes more sweetness -than all other women, and gives such force to her lofty words that she -adorns the heavens in our day with another sun. She has not only made -herself immortal by her beautiful poems and style, than which I have -heard none better, but she can raise from the tomb those of whom she -speaks or writes, and make them live forever.” - -Michael Angelo, to whom she was a close friend as well as an -inspiration, and a polar star, wrote: “By her genius I was raised toward -the skies; in her soul my thought was born; without wings, I flew with -her wings.” - -Such exceptional women made their courts and drawing rooms the gathering -places of the most refined and beautiful ladies of the time, of great -artists like Raphael Sanzio, Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo, Titian, -Corregio and Bellini, of famous authors, poets and philosophers like -Tasso, Ariosto, Bembo, and of distinguished statesmen, dignitaries and -men of the world. They met here to listen to interesting debates about -Humanism, the new doctrine, that man must endeavor to reconstitute -himself as a free being, and throw off the shackles, that held him the -thrall of theological despotism. They also read the classic -philosophers, enjoyed the inspiring works of composers, or harkened to -the wonderful accounts of daring discoverers, just returned from -adventurous expeditions to India and the New World. - -Most attractive affairs were the festivals of the Roses, held in spring. -Then poets and poetesses contested with their latest songs, rondos and -sonnets, to be awarded laurel-wreaths or roses of gold and silver. - -It was at such gatherings that intimate friends united sweet discourses -and platonic adoration, as shown in the following charming poem, written -in those idyllic times: - - “Donne e donzelle e giovanette accorte - rallegrando si vanno a le gran feste - d’amor si punte e deste - che par ciascuna che d’amar appaghi - e l’altre a punto in gonnellette corte - ginocano a l’ombra delle gran foreste, - tanto leggiadre e preste, - quai solean ninfe stare appresso i laghi - e in giovanetti vaghi - veggio seguire e donnear costoro - e talora danzare a mano a mano.” - -Translated these rhymes mean: “I behold lovely women and maidens as they -joyfully hurry to the great feast. Struck and awakened by love they -flourish with sweet desire. I see them at play in the shadows of the -forest, and running with flowing garments, agile and graceful like -nymphs at the border of the lakes. Bright young men follow these sweet -women to amorous play. Here and there some of these happy couples -disappear, wandering hand in hand.” - -It is difficult for us, to realize the great changes brought about by -this movement in social manners as well as in the position of women. “To -be a gentleman,” so J. A. Symonds says in his book “Renaissance in -Italy,” “meant at this epoch to be a man acquainted with the rudiments -at least of scholarship, refined in diction, capable of corresponding or -of speaking in choice phrases, open to the beauty of the arts, -intelligently interested in archæology, taking for his models of conduct -the great men of antiquity rather than the saints of the church. He was -also expected to prove himself an adept in physical exercises and in the -courteous observances which survived from chivalry.” - -What was expected of a lady of rank we learn from a very interesting -booklet, written in 1514 by Count Baldassare Castiglione, entitled -“Libro del Cortegiano.” According to this “Manual for Courtiers” a lady -should not be inferior to her husband in intellectual accomplishment and -be able to read and write Latin. In classic literature as well as in -music and arts she should be versed to such an extent as to have a -correct judgment of her own; while she should possess individuality, her -behavior should be easy but graceful and blameless. It was also expected -that she should cultivate her personal merits and beauty. “Beauty,” so -the manual says, “is of far greater importance to a lady than to a -gentleman, because it is a divine gift which loses its charm when -connected with an unworthy person. In her whole appearance, in her -words, actions and attitude a lady must remain different from man. While -virility should distinguish him, a lady should never try to copy him and -be masculine. By nature woman is not inferior to man, therefore she -should not imitate him. Both sexes are created to enjoy equal rights, -but each sex has its own and individual right.”— - -[Illustration: - - IN ITALY DURING THE TIME OF THE RENAISSANCE. - - After a painting by Jacques Wagrez. -] - -From Italy the Revival of Learning with its new conceptions of -philosophy and religion spread to France, Germany, the Netherlands, and -England, stimulating everywhere great intellectual life and -achievements. - -In France it was ushered in by =Christine de Pisan=, the first French -lady of the 14th Century who, at least in prose, gave evidence of a -finished literary perception. In her works, which were often copied, she -tried to rouse the self-respect of women by informing them about their -sphere and duties. By her work “Cité des Dames” she made them acquainted -with the character of famous women of the past, and endeavored to -inspire their minds in order that they might join in the ethical efforts -of the time. - -Christine de Pisan was perhaps also the first woman, who opened a sharp -protest against the narrow views many men of her time had in regard to -woman’s abilities and position. Defying the prejudice of woman’s -inferiority, she gained a complete victory in her literary skirmishes -over several clergymen of high standing. - -In Germany the cities of Nuremberg, Augsburg, Strassburg and Basel -became the centers of learned societies, who gathered around scholars -like Schedel, Pirckheimer, Agricola, Peutinger, Reuchlin and Brant. Here -also Dürer, Holbein, Cranach, Schongauer and Vischer enriched the world -with works of art that rank among the greatest of the Middle Ages. But -most important of all, in Germany that great religious movement started -which was in truth the Teutonic Renaissance: the Reformation, in which -Luther, Melanchton, Hutten and Erasmus were the leading spirits. - -Kindred movements were started in Switzerland by Zwingli, in France by -Lefevre d’Estaples, Berquin and Calvin; in England by Wycliffe, Bilney, -Cranmer and Cromwell. - -While so numerous men and women strove for greater physical and -intellectual liberty, ecclesiastic despotism, to prevent anybody from -thinking independently, denounced all free thinkers as heretics who must -be exterminated by fire and sword. The life of many brilliant men and -women ended at the stake or on the scaffold. But far greater numbers -perished through obscure superstition, for the spread of which the -Church was in the first place responsible. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: - - ACCUSED OF WITCHCRAFT. - - After a painting by F. Piloty. -] - - - THE DARKEST CHAPTER IN WOMAN’S HISTORY. - -The belief in witchcraft, witches, evil spirits and devils is as old as -humanity. It prevailed among all primeval people as well as among all -nations of the classic past and the middle ages. It still exists among -many nations who call themselves civilized. Witches have been and are -feared as persons, who maintain intercourse with evil spirits, demons or -devils. They are believed to be able, through the assistance of these -spirits, of inflicting injury on other people, who attract their dislike -and hatred. In former times people were convinced, that such witches -could transform themselves into animals, clouds, water, rocks, trees or -anything else; that they could cause disastrous thunderstorms, hail, -invasions of grasshoppers, whirlwinds and droughts; that they could -steal the dew and the rain, hide the moon and the stars, and produce -plagues in men and cattle. - -From the Hebrews, who were firm believers in witchcraft and sorcery, -this superstition was handed down to the early Christians, and with the -extension of Christianity, it affected all other European nations. The -earliest ecclesiastical decree against witchcraft appears to have been -that of Ancyra, 315 A. D., condemning soothsayers to five years’ -penance. In canon law the Decretum subjected them to excommunication as -idolators and enemies of Christ. And in accordance with the command of -Moses: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” all women suspected of -witchcraft were killed. - -Later on the Popes John XXII. and Eugene IV. issued bulls exhorting all -Christians to greater diligence “against heretics as well as the human -agents of the Prince of Darkness, and especially against those who have -the power to produce bad weather.” To exterminate these enemies of the -Holy Faith all fighting forces of the church were set in motion, among -them an institution, which had been founded in Spain during the 12th -Century: the Inquisition. - -As its name, derived from the Latin “inquirere,” indicates, it was the -office of this institution to inquire about, or spy into all sins -committed against the Holy Faith and the authority of the church, and to -deliver witches as well as heretics to the proper authorities for -punishment. - -Confirmed and sanctioned by the Popes, this Inquisition had already -performed excellent work during the crusades against the Albigenses and -Waldenses. But the most vigorous crusade against witchcraft began when -in 1484 Pope Innocent VIII. published his bull “Summis desiderantes -affectibus,” of which Andrew D. White in his “History of the Warfare of -Science with Theology” has said that of all documents, ever issued, this -has doubtless caused the greatest shedding of innocent blood. - -By this bull several professors of theology were appointed as -inquisitors for large parts of Germany, with full power to prevent the -further spread of heresy and witchcraft. The clergy as well as all other -authorities were warned that these inquisitors must not be hindered in -any way nor by anyone. “All who try to do so, will be, whatever office -they may hold, subdued by excommunication, suspension, interdict and -other still more terrible punishments, without any appeal: and if -necessary, they shall be turned over to the civil authorities. It shall -not be permitted to anyone to act wantonly contrary to our message. -Whoever may try to do so, should know that he directs upon himself the -wrath of Almighty God as well as of the Apostles Peter and Paul.” - -Under the authority of this bull the inquisitors opened in Germany not -only a systematic crusade against witchcraft, but at the same time -prepared a manual, the Malleus Maleficarum, or “the Witch-Hammer,” which -became the great text-book on procedure in all witchcraft cases. Never -before had a volume been published that contained an equal amount of -idiotic superstition. And never before nor after has any book caused -more unnecessary suffering, misery, and disaster. When J. Scherr, one of -the foremost historians of Germany, said that this bungling composition -was written with the venom of monks, who had become crazy with violent -fanaticism, voluptuousness, avarice and the passion for cruelty, he -spoke only too true. - -Of the unfortunate human beings, who fell victims to this madness, the -overwhelming majority were women. - -In fact, the authors of the “Witch-Hammer” boldly asserted, that -witchcraft is more natural to women than to men, on account of the -inherent wickedness of their hearts. “What else is woman but a necessary -evil, a domestic danger, an attractive temptation, and a natural -mischief, painted with nice colors? According to her mind woman seems to -belong to another species than man. She is more voluptuous, as is proven -by many immodest and lustful acts. This fault became apparent in the -creation of the first woman, who was formed out of a crooked rib.” - -The inquisitors go on to explain: “Witchcraft is the most unpardonable -among all acts of heresy and sins. Generally heretics are punished very -severely. If they do not recant, they are burned. If they change for the -better, they are imprisoned for life. But such dealing is not rigorous -enough for witches. They must be annihilated, even if they regret their -sins and announce their readiness to return to our Christian faith. -Because the sins of the witches are far greater than the sins of the -fallen angels and of the first men.” - -After having made these statements, the authors of the “Witch-Hammer” -explain what witches are able to do to their unsuspecting fellow-men in -violation to the rules of the church. - -Decency forbids the translation and reprinting of those passages which -deal with the character of the obscene acts, charged to witches. We must -confine ourselves to the remark that they were accused of sexual -intercourse with innumerable devils, and that, in describing the various -forms of such intercourse, the authors of the “Witch-Hammer” revealed -their own infernal depravity. - -To point out only a few of the countless crimes ascribed to witches: it -was asserted that witches, disguised as midwives, killed unborn children -and tormented the unfortunate mothers by sharp thorns, bones and pieces -of wood, produced in their wombs. Other witches, by looking at mothers -and cows, made them dry; they also prevented milk from being churned -into butter. By dipping brooms into water and swinging them in the air, -numerous witches were accused of having caused terrible thunderstorms. -Witches also stopped springs, wells and rivers from flowing; others -caused an invasion of earthworms, mice, locusts, and other vermin. - -To remain undetected in the performance of such hellish tricks, the -witches transformed themselves into dogs, cats, owls, bats and other -animals. - -But the most horrible crime imputed to witches, was, that during certain -nights they would go up chimneys and ride on broomsticks, goats, or pigs -through the air to some bald hill, to take part in the celebration of -the Witch-Sabbath. Here they would meet their master, Satan, whose upper -half is that of a hairy man with a pale face and round fiery eyes. On -his forehead he has three horns, the middle one serving as a lantern and -radiating light similar to that of the full moon. The lower half of -Satan’s body is that of a buck, but the tail and the left foot are those -of a cow, while the right foot has the hoof of a horse. Assisted by -innumerable devils of lower degrees Satan would preside over the -Sabbath, during which the most sacred ceremonies of the church were -ridiculed. Having read the Mass, he would administer the Devil’s -Sacraments and the Devil’s Supper, after which the whole assemblage -would indulge in the most obscene orgies. - -Even more nauseating volumes on witchcraft were published in Italy, -Spain, France and the Netherlands. Their authors had wrenched the most -insane confessions from tortured women about their carnal intercourse -with the Prince of Hell and with hosts of other evil spirits. -Notwithstanding the absurdity of such confessions they were believed by -the superstitious priests as well as by the people, because the Popes -and all other dignitaries of the church approved of such books and -summoned every true Christian to join in the universal warfare upon -witchcraft. - -As superstition, like hysteria and other mental diseases, is contagious, -it cannot surprise us that the belief in witches also affected the -countries in which the Reformation had taken root. We must consider that -in these times education was still confined to a few. It was a privilege -of the wealthy and of a small number of distinguished thinkers. Even -these stood entirely under the influence of the Bible, and they -believed, as the example of Luther proves, in the corporal existence of -the devil and evil spirits. Among the common people, who grew up in -blind credulity, enlightenment made very slow progress. - -Thus, all Christianity became polluted with superstition and the belief -in witchcraft. Furthermore, from the European countries it spread to -every Spanish, French, Dutch and English colony founded in different -parts of the world. - -But there is also another explanation for the passionate zeal developed -by the inquisitors. By the trials for witchcraft the church as well as -the inquisitors and other officials grew enormously rich, as all -property of the witches and their families was confiscated under the -pretense that the taint of witchcraft hung to everything that had -belonged to the condemned. If such property should remain, in the hands -of their relatives it might cause them all kinds of misfortune and -deliver them also into the hands of Satan. - -Where thus suspicion, ignorance and avarice were lying in wait, no woman -was sure of her life for one hour. No matter what her social position -might be, the slightest grounds of suspicion, or the slandering -denunciation by some enemy was sufficient to deliver her into the power -of the inquisitors. - -Generally the proceedings began with searching the body of the suspected -witch for the mark of Satan, as it was asserted that all who consorted -with devils had some secret mark about them, in some hidden place on -their bodies, as, for instance, on the inside of the lips, between the -hair of the eyebrows, in the hollows of the arm, inside of the thigh, or -in still more private parts, from whence Satan drew nourishment. To find -these marks, was the task of the “Witch-Prickers,” who, after divesting -the supposed witch of all clothing, minutely examined all parts of her -body. If they found a mole or another peculiar blemish, they pricked it -with a needle. If the place proved insensitive and did not bleed, this -was an undeniable proof that the person had sold herself to the devil, -and that she must be turned over to the inquisitors. - -Then these human tigers began to ask questions, suggesting satisfactory -answers, and if these answers were not equal to a confession of guilt, -the prisoner was subjected to tortures which sooner or later surely -brought out such answers and in such language as was suggested to her by -the inquisitors. And these answers were given though the poor creature -knew that they would send her to the stake or scaffold. - -To indicate the horrible sufferings, that hundreds of thousands of -delicate and aged women had to go through, a few of the many implements -of torture may be described. Robert G. Ingersoll in his great lecture -“The Liberty of Man, Woman and Child” has said about them: - -“I used to read in books how our fathers persecuted mankind. But I never -appreciated it. I read it, but it did not burn itself into my soul. I -did not really appreciate the infamies that have been committed in the -name of religion, until I saw the iron arguments that Christians used. I -saw the Thumb-screw—two little pieces of iron, armed on the inner -surface with protuberances, to prevent their slipping; through each end -a screw uniting the two pieces. And when some person denied the efficacy -of baptism or her guilt of witchcraft, then they put his thumb between -these pieces of iron and in the name of love and forgiveness, began to -screw these pieces together. When this was done most men said “I will -confess!” Probably I should have done the same and I would have said: -“Stop! I will admit that there is one god or a million, one hell or a -billion; suit yourselves; but stop!”— - -“But there was now and then a person who would not swerve the breadth of -a hair. Heroism did not excite the respect of our fathers. The person -who would not confess or recant was not forgiven. They screwed the -thumb-screws down to the last pang, and then threw their victim into -some dungeon, where, in the throbbing silence and darkness, he might -suffer the agonies of the fabled damned. This was done in the name of -love—in the name of mercy—in the name of the compassionate Christ! - -“I saw, too, what they called the Collar of Torture. Imagine a circle of -iron, and on the inside a hundred points almost as sharp as needles. -This argument was fastened about the throat of the sufferer. Then he -could not walk, nor sit down, nor stir without the neck being punctured -by these points. In a little while the throat would begin to swell, and -suffocation would end the agonies. - -“I saw another instrument, called the Scavenger’s Daughter. Think of a -pair of shears with handles, not only where they now are, but at the -points as well, and just above the pivot that unites the blades, a -circle of iron. In the upper handles the hands would be placed; in the -lower the feet; and through the iron ring, at the center, the head of -the victim would be forced. In this condition, he would be thrown prone -upon the earth, and the strain on the muscles produced such agony that -insanity would in pity end his pain.” - -“I saw the Rack. This was a box like the bed of a wagon, with a windlass -at each end, with levers, and ratchets to prevent slipping; over each -windlass went chains; some were fastened to the ankles of the sufferer; -others to his wrists. And then priests, clergymen, divines, saints, -began turning these windlasses, and kept turning until the ankles, the -knees, the hips, the shoulders, the elbows, the wrists of the victim -were all dislocated, and the sufferer was wet with the sweat of agony. -And they had standing by a physician to feel his pulse. What for? To -save his life? Yes. In mercy? No; simply that they might rack him once -again. - -“This was done, remember, in the name of civilization; in the name of -law and order; in the name of mercy; in the name of religion; in the -name of the most merciful Christ.” - -Christian people in England had invented a machine called the “Witches’ -Bridle.” It was so constructed that by means of a loop which passed over -the victim’s head, a piece of iron having four points or prongs was -forcibly thrust into the mouth. Two of these prongs pressed against the -tongue and palate, the other outward to the cheeks. This infernal -instrument was secured by a padlock. At the back of the collar was fixed -a ring, by which to attach the witch to a staple in the wall of her -cell. Thus “bridled,” and day and night watched over by some person -appointed by her inquisitors, the unhappy creature, after a few days of -such torture, maddened by misery and pain, would be brought to the point -of confessing anything in order to be rid of her wretched life. - -But thumb-screws, the collar, the scavenger’s daughter, the rack and the -bridle were not the only means of inflicting pain devised by the -ingenuity of cruelty. There was also the “Spider,” a diabolic implement -with curved claws, for tearing out a woman’s breast. There were the iron -Spanish Boots, the inner sides of which were set with points. After -these machines had been placed around the lower legs of the victim they -were screwed so tightly that often the shin-bones were crushed. To -increase the horrible pain the torturer from time to time knocked with a -hammer on the screws, so that sharp shocks like strokes of lightning -shot through the victim’s body. - -Another implement was an iron band which was fastened around the head -and screwed tight and tighter until the eyes of the maltreated person -protruded and she went almost crazy. - -If the rack had not brought confession, the inquisitors ordered the -“Elevation.” - -After the writhing sufferer’s hands had been tied to the back, a rope, -running over a pulley on the ceiling, was fastened to the hands. Then, -by pulling the rope, the body of the victim was slowly lifted until the -contorted and dislocated arms stood over the head, while the feet were -high above the floor. To render such torment more severe, heavy stones -were fastened to the feet, and now and then the body was allowed to drop -suddenly, only to be lifted again after a while. In this dangling -position the heretic or witch was often left for hours, while the -tormentors sat in some nearby saloon over their ale and wine. - -There were many other methods of torment, each more cruel than the -others, among them the gradual pouring of water drop by drop on a -particular part of the head or body, or the pouring of water onto a -piece of gauze in the back of the throat, thus gradually forcing the -gauze into the stomach. Boiling hot oil, burning sulphur and pitch, or -molten lead were poured on the naked body, or the poor creatures were -incessantly pricked and prodded in their dungeons so that they could not -rest a second for weeks at a time, until they were finally driven to -despair and madness. - -No periods in human history are more terrible, revolting and depressing -to contemplate than these times of the Inquisition and of persecution -for witchcraft. The student, who has courage enough, to go through the -blood-stained documents of these dreadful times, must feel as Ingersoll -felt when he said: - -[Illustration: - - A SUPPOSED WITCH BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL OF THE INQUISITION. - - After a painting by H. Steinheil. -] - -“Sometimes, when I read and think about these frightful things, it seems -to me that I have suffered all these horrors myself. It seems sometimes, -as though I had stood upon the shore of exile and gazed with tearful -eyes toward home and native land; as though my nails had been torn from -my hands, and into the bleeding quick needles had been thrust; as though -my feet had been crushed in iron boots; as though I had been chained in -the cell of the Inquisition and listened with dying ears for the coming -footsteps of release; as though I had stood upon the scaffold and had -seen the glittering axe fall upon me; as though I had been upon the rack -and had seen, bending above me, the white faces of hypocrite priests; as -though I had been taken from my fireside, from my wife and children, -taken to the public square, chained, as though fagots had been piled -about me; as though the flames had climbed around my limbs and scorched -my eyes to blindness, and as though my ashes had been scattered to the -four winds, by all the countless hands of hate.” - -From the records of trials for witchcraft still preserved in the -archives of many European cities, it appears that the majority of -victims were aged women; very frequently they had reared families and -spent their youth and beauty in this self-denying work. But there are -also many cases of the torturing of mere children; in several such cases -little girls of seven and nine years gave affirmative answers to -questions, as to whether they had held sexual intercourse with the -devil. They even admitted to have given birth to children in consequence -of such intercourse. A record covering the years 1627, 1628 and January, -1629, states that during this period in Wurzburg, Bavaria, one hundred -and sixty-three persons were tortured, and burnt at the stake. Among -them were seventy-two women, and twenty-six children under fourteen -years. Among the latter were little girls of nine years or less, and one -was a little blind girl. - -On March 7, 1679, in Heimfels, Tyrol, a poor woman, Emerencia Pichler, -was brought before the inquisitors. In spite of her solemn pledges by -God and the Virgin that she knew nothing about witchcraft she was -submitted to torture. On the third day of her sufferings the inquisitors -wrung from the unfortunate creature a confession, that Satan had visited -her one day, wearing a blue jacket, a white vest and red socks. In his -company she made a flight to a high mountain, both riding on the same -oven-shovel. Here they took part in the witches-sabbath, during which -several infants were killed and eaten. The remains were used in -concocting all kinds of ointments and powders, to be used in the -producing of thunderstorms and plagues. The most horrible part of these -confessions was that the woman, when questioned about accomplices, in -her agonies named twenty-four persons, among them her own four children. -Of course the poor woman withdrew her confessions, when the tortures -were interrupted. Nevertheless she was found guilty. On her way to the -place of execution she was twitched with red-hot pincers and afterwards -burnt at the stake. - -Her two oldest children, a boy of fourteen and a girl of twelve, were -beheaded and their bodies burnt to ashes on July 29, 1679. Their little -brother Sebastian, nine years old, and his sister Maria, six years old, -were terribly flogged and forced to attend the execution of their mother -and playmates. - -Of all the other “accomplices,” named by the woman, not one escaped the -clutches of the inquisitors and death at the stake. - -There are on record thousands and thousands of similar cases, many of -them horrible beyond belief and defying description. No country in -Europe escaped the visitation of such inquisitors, many of whom -journeyed from place to place in search of victims. In numerous cities -the arrival of these fiends was regarded with greater fear than famine -or pestilence, especially by women, against whom their malice was -chiefly directed. That there was cause for such fear, is proven by the -fact that in Treves seven thousand women lost their lives. In Geneva -five thousand were executed in a single month. And in Toulouse, France, -four hundred witches were burnt in one day, dying the horrible death by -fire for a crime which never existed save in the imagination of their -benighted persecutors.— - -Among the countless women burnt as witches was also Jeanette d’Arc, who -to-day is glorified by the French nation as =Jeanne d’Arc=, the Maid of -Orleans, and who has been lately canonized. Born about 1411 at Dom-Remy, -a small village in the Champagne, she witnessed the conquest of Northern -France by the English. While brooding over this mishap, it became fixed -in her mind that she was destined to deliver France from these invaders. -This impression was strengthened by a number of visions, in which she -believed to see St. Michael, the archangel of judgments and of battles, -who commanded her to take up arms and hurry to the assistance of the -king. In February, 1429, she set out on her perilous journey to the -court of the Dauphin at Chinon. Here she succeeded in convincing the -king of the divinity of her mission, so that she was permitted to start -with an army of 5000 men for the relief of Orleans. Clothed like a man -in a coat of mail, and carrying a white standard of her own design, -embroidered with lilies and the image of God, she inspired her followers -with a religious enthusiasm. Favored by good luck she entered the -besieged city on the 29th of April, 1429, and by incessant attacks so -discouraged the enemy that they withdrew on the 8th of May. However, in -several other enterprises her luck failed, and on the 24th of May, after -an unsuccessful sortie, she was taken prisoner through treachery, -because, being pursued by the enemy, some Frenchmen shut the gates of -the fortress into which she should have escaped. - -With her capture the halo of supernatural power that had surrounded her, -vanished. Accused of being a heretic and a witch, she was turned over to -the Inquisition for trial. Her examination lasted six days. Among other -insidious and indelicate questions on the subject of her visions she was -asked whether, when St. Michael appeared to her, he was naked, and if -she had entertained sexual intercourse with the devil. But no point -seemed graver to the judges than the sin of having assumed male attire. -The judges told her that according to the canons, those who thus change -the habit of their sex, are abominable in the sight of God. - -The decision to which the inquisitors finally came, was that the girl -was wholly the devil’s; was impious in regard to her parents; had -thirsted for Christian blood, adhered to a king who was a heretic and -schismatic, and was herself a heretic, apostate and idolator. For all -these crimes she was sentenced to death, and burnt alive on the market -place of Rouen, May 30th, 1431.— - -As has been stated already persecutions for witchcraft were not confined -to European countries, but were also carried on by Christian priests and -judges in all colonies established by Europeans on other continents. In -the British colonies of North America the most sensational trial for -witchcraft was that in Salem, Massachusetts, about which J. M. Buckley -in an article written for the Century Magazine (Vol. XLIII, pp. 408–422) -speaks as follows: - -“The first settlers of New England brought across the Atlantic the -sentiments which had been formed in their minds in Great Britain and on -the Continent, as well as the tendencies which were the common heritage -of such an ancestry. They were a very religious, and also a credulous -people; having few books, no papers, little news, and virtually no -science; removed by thousands of miles and months of time from Old-World -civilization; living in the midst of an untamed wilderness, surrounded -by Indians whom they believed to be under the control of the devil, and -whose medicine-men they accounted wizards. Such a mental and moral soil -was adapted to the growth of witchcraft, and to create an invincible -determination to inflict the punishments pronounced against it in the -Old Testament; but the co-operation of various exciting causes was -necessary to a general agitation and a real epidemic. - -[Illustration: - - WOMEN, CONDEMNED FOR WITCHCRAFT, BURNT AT THE STAKE. -] - -“Salem witchcraft thus arose: The Reverend Mr. Parris, minister of the -church in Salem village, had formerly lived in the West Indies, and -brought some negro slaves back with him. These slaves talked with the -children of the neighborhood, some of whom could not read, while the -others had but little to read. In the winter of 1691–92 they formed a -kind of circle which met at Mr. Parris’ house, probably unknown to him, -to practice palmistry and fortune-telling, and learn what they could of -magic and necromancy. - -“Before the winter was over some of them fully believed that they were -under the influence of spirits. Epidemic hysteria arose; physicians -could not explain their state; the cry was raised that they were -bewitched; and some began to make charges against those whom they -disliked of having bewitched them. In the end those of a stronger mind -among them became managers and plotters directing the rest at their -will. By the time public attention was attracted Mr. Parris had come to -the conclusion that they were bewitched and, having a theory to -maintain, encouraged and flattered them, and by his questions made even -those who had not believed themselves bewitched think that they were. - -“From March, 1692, to May, 1693, about two hundred persons were -imprisoned. Of these some escaped by the help of friends, some by -bribing their jailors; a number died in prison, and one hundred and -fifty were set free at the close of the excitement by the proclamation -of the Governor. Nineteen were executed, among them George Burroughs, a -minister of the Gospel. - -“When it is remembered that a number of these persons were among the -most pious and amiable of the people of Salem; that they were related by -blood, marriage, friendship, and Christian fellowship to many who cried -out against them, both as accusers and supporters of the prosecutions, -the transaction must be classed among the darkest in human history.” - -Several historians have made attempts to ascertain the number of men, -women and children, who lost their lives through this abominable -superstition. O. Waechter, who published a book about this subject, -calculates that the number of victims must have been at least three -millions! Imagine, what a terrible amount of sighs, tears, and physical -and mental agonies this number represents! - - - - - Women in Modern Times. - - -[Illustration: - - DISPOSING OF EXHAUSTED CAPTIVES. -] - - - WOMAN IN SLAVERY. - -When our historians date the beginning of Modern Times from the -discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, they are fully justified, -as no other event has caused so many radical changes in the thoughts of -men as well as in all commercial and social conditions. The earlier -views about our terrestrial globe and its relation to the universe gave -place to new and far greater conceptions. Almost every day brought new -and astonishing disclosures in natural history, physics and other -spheres of science. - -The end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th Century was also the -time of the Renaissance as well as of the Reformation, of a revival of -the wisdom of the classic past and of the rise and establishment of new -sublime ideas about God and the destiny of man. - -It could not fail that in this period of spiritual fermentation and -inspiration the views about women, matrimony and woman’s rights likewise -underwent considerable changes. But before these new conceptions found -general acceptance many mediæval traditions, prejudices and customs had -to be overcome and cleared away. - -While the discovery of America brought incredible riches to various -European nations, it caused nothing but misery and disaster to the -aborigines of the New World. And to many million Africans as well. - -It must not be forgotten that the conquest of Mexico, Peru and other -rich parts of America inflamed the greed of inumerable adventurers, and -that these men, in order to wring gold and other treasures from the -natives, resorted to the most heartless cruelties. We also must call to -mind, that in company with these conquerors went hosts of monks and -priests of all orders, eager to convert the “heathen” to the “only true -creed.” Ruthlessly invading the temples of the “infidels,” they turned -the banner of the Cross, this beacon light of promise, into an awful -oriflame of war, spreading destruction and disaster. The well known -accounts, given by the Spanish bishop Las Casas, disclose among other -horrible events the fact—heretofore unheard of in human history—that -whole bands and tribes of American Indians, to evade the tyranny of -their European oppressors, slaughtered their own children, and then -committed suicide. - -These Indians had been compelled not only to work in the gold mines and -in the pearl fisheries, but to perform all other labor that white men -were unable or unwilling to do. As under the cruel treatment of their -oppressors the natives rapidly dwindled away and whole islands became -depopulated the Portuguese as well as the Spaniards resorted to the -importation of negro slaves, whom they captured in Africa and brought to -America. - -It was not long before the profits, derived from this trade, attracted -the eyes of English adventurers. The first to become engaged in that new -branch of business, was William Hawkins. It was he who undertook the -first regular slave hunts to the coast of Guinea and opened that -shameful traffic in which England was engaged for nearly three -centuries. His son, John Hawkins, sailing under a charter of Queen -Elizabeth, continued the lucrative business and grew rich. - -That this men-hunter imagined himself under the special protection of -the heavenly father appears from several entries in his log-book. When, -invading a negro village near Sierra Leone, he almost fell into -captivity himself and would have been exposed to the same fate that he -inflicted, without compunction, upon thousands of other unfortunate men -and women, he wrote: “God, who worketh all things for the best, would -not have it so, and by Him all escaped without danger; His name be -praised for it.” At another time, when his vessels were becalmed for a -long time in midocean and great suffering ensued: “But Almighty God, who -never suffereth His elect to perish, sent us the ordinarie Breeze, which -is the northwest wind.” - -To what extent the name of Christianity was abused, we see from the fact -that Hawkins, when entering upon his greatest expedition with five ships -in 1567 sacrilegiously named his flagship “Jesus Christ.” - -Because of the riches Hawkins brought to England, Queen Elizabeth -knighted him and granted him a coat of arms, showing, on a black shield, -a golden lion rampant over blue waves. Three golden doubloons above the -lions represented the riches Hawkins had secured for England. To give -due credit to the piety of this “nobleman,” there was in the upper -quartering of the shield a pilgrim’s scallop-shell, flanked by two -pilgrim’s staffs, indicating that Hawkins’ slave-hunts were genuine -crusades, undertaken in the name of Christianity. For a crest this -coat-of-arms shows the half-length figure of a negro, with golden -armlets on his arms, but bound and captive. - -In an article entitled “The American Slave,” published in “Pearson’s -Magazine” for 1900, James S. Metcalf states that the slave trade quickly -developed to tremendous extent and that from 1680 to 1786 there were -carried from Africa to the British colonies in America 2,130,000 slaves, -men as well as women. This does not include the number, vastly larger, -taken to the Spanish and Portuguese colonies before, during and after -the same period. - -The same author states, that the traffic in human flesh was a recognized -commerce at the London Exchange, and that, in 1771, the English alone -sent to Africa 192 ships equipped for the trade and with a carrying -capacity of 47,146 slaves per trip. - -It was the tribal warfare among the aborigines of Africa that furnished -the slave dealers with the greater part of their human merchandise. -Small and unprotected villages were constantly in danger of being -attacked by powerful roving bands. When in 1872 the famous explorer -Nachtigal traveled through Central Africa, he witnessed a tragedy that -happened at the shores of Chad Lake. Strong forces of Bagirmis made an -assault on a negro village, to capture the inhabitants and carry them -off for slaves. Alarmed by their guards, the negroes, terror-stricken, -fled to some tree-huts, prepared for such emergency in a nearby forest. -Here they considered themselves safe. But unfortunately the enemies were -in possession of a few guns, with which they picked a number of the -fugitives from the trees like birds. Falling from the dizzy heights, the -wounded were hacked to pieces. After a while the cruel enemies succeeded -in constructing some rough ladders, by which the trees were scaled. -Unable to escape, many of the assaulted, preferring death to slavery, -threw themselves upon the ground below, where they perished. - -[Illustration: - - A RAID OF SLAVE-DEALERS IN CENTRAL AFRICA. -] - -[Illustration: - - A SLAVE TRANSPORT IN CENTRAL AFRICA. -] - -The most desperate fight ensued for the tree-house of the chief. It took -several hours, before the enemies succeeded in reaching the lower -platform, where within a rude enclosure food, water, and even a few -goats had been hidden. Unable to hold this place, the chief with his two -wives and four children withdrew to the highest branches. From there he -defended his family with such ability, that the foes, after having -exhausted their supply in powder, were compelled to abandon the siege.— - -The stronger portion of the captives made during such raids, were -shackled hand and foot to prevent escape. The remainder often were -killed and the flesh distributed among the victors, who, as a rule, -after such a raid formed a small encampment, lighted their fires and -gorged upon the human flesh. They then marched over to one of the -numerous slave-markets on the rivers or the coasts, where they exchanged -the captives with the slave-traders for beads, cloth, brass wire and -other trinkets. - -Woe to those who became sick or exhausted during the long march to the -markets! If unable to stagger on any longer they were, to set an example -for the others, either butchered on the spot, or left behind to perish -by hunger and thirst, or to be torn by wild beasts. - -In the further transportation of such kidnapped men and women no regard -was paid to their comfort. In the best of slave-ships the height between -decks in the quarters set aside for the living cargo was five feet and -eight inches. Even in these not all the slaves had so much head room. -Around the sides of the vessel, halfway up, ran a shelf, giving room for -a double row of slaves, one above and one below. This was stowed with -undersized negroes, including women, boys, and children. In the worst -class of slavers the space between decks was no more than three feet, -compelling the wretched occupants to make the entire journey in a -sitting or crouching position, as they were oftentimes, in fact most of -the times, so crowded together that lying down was an impossibility. In -fact, the more ingenious traders often so figured out the available -space that the slaves were packed in with their feet and legs across one -another’s laps. To prevent revolt, the men were manacled in couples with -leg irons and stowed below. The irons were fastened to the ceiling. As a -rule the women were not handcuffed but crowded into compartments under -grated hatches and locked doors. At sea there might be a faint -possibility of a breath of air’s penetrating into those quarters, but -under all circumstances the mortality among the slaves was frightful. - -“In the literature of the slave trade,” says Metcalff, “the horrors of -the path of commerce stand out as prominently as the persecutions of the -Roman emperors in the history of Christianity. When the sea gives up its -dead there will come from this highway of cruelty a prodigious army of -martyrs to man’s inhumanity to man. The best authorities agree in -estimating that of all the slaves taken from Africa at least -one-eighth—some authorities say more than a quarter—died or were killed -in transit. It staggers the imagination to think of how thickly the -traffic in these helpless savages, continued through almost four -centuries, must have strewn with corpses the lower depths of the -Atlantic. - -“Of course it was necessary, if any part of the cargo was to be -delivered alive, that the negroes should occasionally be brought on deck -and exercised. This was done with a few at a time, although their -masters never went so far as to free even these from their irons. Often -it was found when a couple was to be brought up that one of them had -died and that his mate had spent hours, days even, in the stifling -atmosphere of between-decks, manacled to and in constant contact with a -corpse. It is small wonder that, as often happened, when the slaves were -brought on deck they began jumping overboard in couples, sooner than -return to the heat, thirst, stench, and filth of the hold, where the -scalding perspiration of one ran to the body of another and where men -were constantly dying in their full view. Sooner than endure these -tortures even the savage Africans sought refuge in death by starvation. -This was a contingency provided for in advance by the experienced -trader, and if the gentle persuasion of the thumb-screw failed to cure -the would-be suicide, the ships were always provided with a clever -device to compel the human animal to take the nourishment which kept in -him the life without which he ceased to possess any pecuniary value. -This instrument consisted of a pair of iron compasses, the legs of which -were driven into the mouth when closed and then forced open and held -open by the action of a screw. Even the African negro, stoic to the -pains incident to a life of savagery, would renounce the privilege of -death by starvation to escape the immediate agony of forcibly distended -jaws, especially when at the same time his thumbs were under the -pressure of the screw with blood exuding from their ends.” - -Branded like cattle, the negroes, after their arrival in the American -harbor, were sold by auction. And now the slave was, as the Civil Code -of Louisiana said, “subject to the power of his master in such a manner -that the master may sell him, dispose of his person, and of his labor. -He can do nothing, possess nothing, nor acquire anything but that may -belong to his master.” - -Of course this master had also the right to punish the slave for any -neglect or wrong. To be sure, there were laws against excessive -punishment, but as most of the plantations were far from the cities, -such laws were practically ineffective against those who wished to -violate them. - -We quote once more J. S. Metcalff: “Almost every plantation had its -whipping post, consisting of an upright set in the ground with a short -crosspiece near the top. The thumbs or wrists of the negro to be whipped -were securely tied together, and placed around the upright above the -crosspiece, so that the toes barely touched the ground. Sometimes the -offending slaves were sent to the nearest jail to be whipped by the -jailor, who was an expert in his line of work, and provided with the -right kind of whips as well as a strong arm and an accurate eye to make -his blows inflict the most pain. In other cases, this official paid -regular visits to the plantation, and inflicted the punishments -accumulated since his preceding visit. Thus the terror of anticipation -was often added to the agony of realization. These events were occasions -on the plantations, and the other slaves were compelled to witness the -punishments and sufferings of their fellows as a deterrent to wrongdoing -on their own part. In the case of some offenders which seemed cardinal -against the foundation principles of slavery, such as striking a master, -engaging in a conspiracy with other slaves, or aiding a fugitive, the -punishments were made extraordinarily severe, and slaves from -surrounding plantations were obliged by their masters to gather to -witness them. - -“A case of this latter sort was the one of a negro and his wife, who had -given their owner a severe beating. In spite of the fact that the first -cause of the trouble was the rejection by the woman of the master’s -advances, the offence was so flagrant that neighboring slave-owners -feared to let it go by without severe and public punishment. At the time -set the slaves from neighboring plantations were gathered, and the man -and woman fastened to posts near each other. The man was to receive a -hundred and fifty lashes and the woman a hundred. As the first strokes -fell on the man’s back and loins he gave no sound, but the agony -betrayed itself in the ashening of his dark skin, and in the involuntary -contortion of his features. Meanwhile the woman encouraged him with -crude expressions of pity and love. As the blows increased in number the -torture became unbearable, and the sound of the regularly landing lash -was punctuated with the shrieks of its agonized victim. Finally a -blessed unconsciousness came to his relief, and he hung from the post a -limp, unfeeling mass of bruised and bleeding flesh. While his back was -being washed, the whipping of the woman began. The first blows brought -shrieks of anguish from her lips, but as the whipping went on these -subsided into a murmur of sobs, prayers, and appeals for mercy. With the -exception of an occasional rest for the tired arm of the man wielding -the whip, her punishment was carried to its end without her losing -consciousness, although it was apparent that there had come some numbing -influence to her faculties closely akin to insensibility. The man had -now been restored to his senses and his punishment was resumed. When it -was finished the wounds of both were washed with salt water, to -intensify the effect of the blows, to prevent blood-poisoning and to -heal the wounds more quickly, so that the slaves could resume their -accustomed labor. This matter of the slave’s ability to work was always -taken into account, and we have one instance of two economical lady -slave-owners in Georgia who always inflicted their punishments Sunday -mornings, so that by Monday the slaves would be able to go into the -fields.” - -As the slave-holders were absolute masters over the negroes, they made -their dusky female slaves only too often the objects of their passions. -The effects of this intermingling were soon seen in all slave-holding -countries of America in the mixed character of the population, which, -gradually extending itself as time wore on, resulted in the race of the -mulattoes. From the intercourse of these again with the whites or among -themselves, innumerable shades of color sprang up, giving rise to the -distinctions of octoroons, quadroons, terceroons, quinteroons, etc. To -all these people, regular or irregular in birth, light or dark in color, -were given the various names of “people of color,” “sang melée,” or -“mulattoes.” Notwithstanding the fact, that some of these quadroons and -octoroons could hardly be distinguished from white people in appearance, -their condition followed always that of their mothers, and they were -therefore chattels to be bought or sold. - -“On the plantations where negro children were brought up to be sold, it -was,” as Metcalff states, “not an unheard-of thing for a master to sell -his own son or daughter. In the break-up of family estates it sometimes -happened that the heir was compelled to sell his own half-brother or -half-sister. These relationships were seldom or never recognized.” - -In the slave-markets of New Orleans and the other large cities the -personal appearance of the younger women was a decided element in fixing -their value. The languorous beauty of the Southern quadroon and octoroon -is famous the world over, and on the auction block and at private sale -they brought the highest prices. - -The glory of having written the first formal protest against slavery and -its countless cruelties, belongs to a small band of Mennonites from -Germany, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1683, in the neighborhood of -which city they started a settlement called Germantown. - -Becoming aware that in the colonies slaves were sold without the -disapproval of the Puritans and Quakers, who claimed to be defenders of -human rights, the Mennonites drew up a protest against slavery on -February 18th, 1688. It was the first written in any language. This -remarkable document, still preserved in the archives of the “Society of -Friends” in Philadelphia, was directed to the Quakers and reads as -follows: - - -“This is to ye Monthly Meeting at Richard Warrel’s. These are the -reasons why we are against the traffic of men Body, as followeth: Is -there any that would be done or handled at this manner? to be sold or -made a slave for all time of his life? How fearfull and fainthearted are -many on sea when they see a strange vessel, being afraid it should be a -Turk, and they should be taken and sold for slaves into Turkey. Now what -is this better done as Turks do? Yea rather it is worse for them, which -say they are Christians; for we hear that ye most part of such Negers -are brought hither against their will and consent; and that many of them -are stollen. Now, tho’ they are black, we cannot conceive there is more -liberty to have them slaves, as it is to have other white ones. There is -a saying, that we shall doe to all men, like as we will be done our -selves; making no difference of what generation, descent or colour they -are. And those who steal or robb men, and those who buy or purchase -them, are they not alike? Here is liberty of conscience, which is right -and reasonable; here ought to be likewise liberty of ye body, except of -evil-doers, which is another case. But to bring men hither or to robb -and sell them against their will, we stand against. In Europe there are -many oppressed for conscience sake; and here there are those oppressed -which are of a black colour. And we, who know that men must not commit -adultery, some doe commit adultery in others, separating wifes from -their husbands and giving them to others; and some sell the children of -those poor creatures to other men. Oh! doe consider well this things, -you who doe it, if you would be done at this manner, and if it is done -according Christianity? You surpass Holland and Germany in this thing. -This makes an ill report in all those countries of Europe, where they -hear off, that ye Quakers doe here handel men like they handel there ye -cattel. And for that reason some have no mind or inclination to come -hither, and who shall maintain this your cause or plaid for it? Truly we -can not do so, except you shall inform us better hereof, that Christians -have liberty to practice this things. Pray! What thing on this world can -be done worse towards us, then if men should robb or steal us away, and -sell us for slaves to strange countries, separating husbands from their -wifes and children. Being now this is not done at that manner, we will -be done at, therefore we contradict and are against this traffick of -menbody. And we who profess that it is not lawful to steal, must -likewise avoid to purchase such things as are stollen, but rather help -to stop this robbing and stealing if possible; and such men ought to be -delivered out of ye hands of ye Robbers and sett free as well as in -Europe. Then is Pennsylvania to have a good report, instead it hath now -a bad one for this sake in other countries. Especially whereas ye -Europeans are desirous to know in what manner ye Quackers doe rule in -their Province; and most of them doe look upon us with an envious eye. -But if this is done, well, what shall we say is done evil? - -“If once these slaves (which they say are so wicked and stubborn men) -should joint themselves, fight for their freedom and handel their -masters and mastrisses as they did handel them before, will these -masters and mastrisses tacke the sword at hand and warr against these -poor slaves, like we are able to believe, some will not refuse to doe? -Or have these Negers not as much right to fight for their freedom, as -you have to keep them slaves? - -“Now consider well this thing, if it is good or bad? and in case you -find it to be good to handel these blacks at that manner, we desire and -require you hereby lovingly, that you may inform us here in, which at -this time never was done, that Christians have such a liberty to do so, -to the end we shall be satisfied in this point, and satisfie likewise -our good friends and acquaintances in our natif country, to whom it is a -terrour or fairfull thing that men should be handeld so in Pennsylvania. - -“This is from our Meeting at Germantown held ye 18. of the 2. month -1688. to be delivered to the monthly meeting at Richard Warrel’s. - - “gerret hendericks - derick op de graeff - Francis Daniell Pastorius - Abraham op Den graeff.” - - -This document, set up by the humble inhabitants of Germantown, compelled -the Quakers to think. Becoming aware that the traffic in human beings -did not harmonize with the Christian religion, they introduced in 1711 -an act to prevent the importation of negroes and Indians into -Pennsylvania. Later on they also declared themselves against the slave -trade. But as the Government found such laws inadmissible, the question -dragged along, until 150 years later, by Lincoln’s Emancipation -Proclamation, this black spot on the escutcheon of the United States was -wiped out. - - * * * * * - -The Germans of Pennsylvania were also compelled to protest against other -gross abuses, of which white men and women had become the victims. To -review early immigration into America means to open one of the blackest -pages of Colonial history. The constant wars, prevailing in Europe, the -horrible persecutions to which the followers of certain religious sects -were exposed, the frequent times of famine and pestilence led many -thousands of unhappy beings to sail for the New World, where such -sufferings would not be encountered. But the means of travel, then -existing, did not meet the demands. Vessels, fit for the transportation -of large numbers, were few and their accommodations extremely poor. -Authorities took no interest in the proper treatment of the emigrants. -Everything was left to the owners of the ships, who were responsible to -nobody. - -What sort of people were these shippers? Many were smugglers and -pirates, always on the lookout for prey. Others were slave-dealers, -making fortunes in trading negro-slaves. No doubt, the moral standard of -these gentlemen was very low. Do we wonder that many of these -unscrupulous men established also a regular trade in =white= slaves, for -which the increasing exodus from Europe to America opened most alluring -inducements. If smart enough, they would amass great wealth and would no -longer have to make the perilous voyage to Guinea, to kidnap black -people at the risk of their own lives. For the white slaves could be -seduced by a bait that had a flavor of high-spirited benevolence. - -Pretending willingness to help all persons without means, the -ship-owners offered to give such persons credit for their passage across -the ocean, on condition that they would work for it after their arrival -in America, by hiring out as servants for a certain length of time to -colonists, who would advance their wages by paying the passage money to -the ship-owners. As the persons were redeeming themselves by performing -this service, they were therefore called “Redemptioners.” - -With this harmless-looking decoy many thousands of men and women were -lured on to sign contracts, only to find out later that they had become -victims of villainous knaves and had to pay for their inexperience with -the best years of their lives. - -The voyage across the ocean took as many weeks as it takes days at -present. The ship-holds were in such horrible condition that words fail -to describe them. And these dirty rooms were always packed beyond -capacity. The food was poor and insufficient. Some captains kept their -passengers on half rations from the day of the start, pretending that it -was necessary to prevent famine. In consequence of the poor nourishment -and the overcrowded quarters, all sorts of sickness prevailed and the -mortality was terrific. For medical help and all other services -excessive prices were charged. So it came that at the end of the journey -almost all the passengers were deeply in debt. According to their amount -and the physical condition of each immigrant the length of time was -fixed for which he or she should serve any person, willing to pay the -captain the amount of the immigrant’s debt. This servitude extended -always from four to eight years, and sometimes to more. The captains had -no difficulty in turning the bonds, signed by redemptioners, into cash. -Cheaper labor could be obtained nowhere, and for this reason the -colonists were always eager to secure the services of redemptioners. The -offers were made through the newspapers or at the “Vendu,” the place -where negroes were bought and sold. When applicants came, the -redemptioner was not allowed to choose a master or to express wishes -about the kind of work that would suit him. Members of the same family -must not object to separation. So it happened frequently that a husband -became parted from his wife or children, or children from their parents -for many years or for life. As soon as the applicant paid the debt of a -redemptioner, the latter was obliged to follow him. In case this master -did not need his servant any longer, he could hire, transfer or sell him -like chattel to someone else. - -As in such a case the redemptioner received no duplicate of his -contract, the poor creature depended entirely upon the good will of his -new master, who had it in his power to keep him or her in servitude far -beyond the expiration of the true contract time. If any dispute arose, a -redemptioner enjoyed no greater protection than a negro, like whom he -was treated in many respects. If found ten miles away from home without -the written consent of his master, he would be regarded as a run-away -and submitted to heavy physical punishment. Persons guilty of hiding or -assisting such fugitives were fined 500 pounds of tobacco for each -twenty-four hours such fugitive had remained under their roof. Who -captured a run-away was entitled to a reward of 200 pounds of tobacco or -50 dollars. And to the run-away’s servitude ten days were added for -every twenty-four hours absent, to say nothing of the severe whipping he -was liable to get. - -The redemptioners went through all sorts of experiences, according to -the different tempers of their masters. Some were lucky enough to find -good homes, where they were well treated. But many fell into the hands -of heartless, selfish people, who in their eagerness to get as much as -possible out of the redemptioners, literally worked them to death, to -say nothing of providing insufficient food, scanty clothing and poor -lodging. Many owners made use of the right to punish redemptioners so -frequently and so cruelly, that a law became necessary whereby it was -forbidden to apply to a servant more than ten lashes for each “fault.” - -Female redemptioners were quite often exposed to lives of shame, which -some of the laws seemed to invite. For instance in Maryland a law was -passed in 1663 providing that any freeborn white woman, who married a -colored slave, should together with her offspring become the property of -the owner of that slave. - -Originally this abominable law was intended to deter white women from -intermarriage with colored men. But many depraved colonists misused this -law purposely and compelled their white female servants by threat or -deceit to marry colored slaves, as the master then would legally secure -permanent possession of the white freeborn woman as well as the children -she might bear. Though everybody knew that such devilish tricks were -practiced extensively, this law remained in force until 1721, when a -peculiar incident led to its repeal. When Lord Baltimore, the founder of -Maryland, visited his province in 1681, he brought over an Irish girl, -Nellie, who had agreed to redeem the cost of passage to America by doing -service. Before her time ended, Lord Baltimore returned to England. -Prior to his departure he sold the unexpired term of Nellie’s service to -a resident of Maryland, who some weeks thereafter gave Nellie to one of -his negroes, making her thereby, together with two children that were -born, forever his slave. When Lord Baltimore heard of this, he caused -the abolishment of the law of 1663. But all efforts to release his -former servant and her children were in vain. The case dragged along for -years, until the courts decided, that Nellie and her children must -remain slaves, as the latter were born before the annulment of the law. - -Incidents of similar character stirred the German citizens of -Philadelphia to revolt against the unjust treatment to which their -immigrant countrymen and women were subjected. At a meeting on Christmas -Day of 1764, they formed “=The German Society of Pennsylvania=,” with -the purpose of securing laws for the abolishment of all abuses which had -grown out of the treatment of immigrants. Such a law was secured on May -18th of the following year. - -The “German Society of Pennsylvania” became the model for many similar -institutions in all parts of America. By uncovering evils and by -vigorous persecutions of guilty persons, by continuously framing and -recommending effective laws, these societies secured at last a better -treatment of the immigrants on the ocean as well as after landing. With -full justice these societies may be called the true originators of our -modern immigration laws.— - -They also established the “Legal Aid Societies,” to assist poor people -in need of legal advice and help. As these institutions spread over -hundreds of cities of America as well as of Europe, we see that since -the Christmas meeting in Philadelphia in 1764 untold millions of people -have profited by the earnest work, begun by that small band of Germans, -who had the welfare of their poor countrymen at heart, and showed what -genuine Christmas spirit can do for humanity, if it is only put to a -proper purpose. - - * * * * * - -There existed yet another form of female slavery, the worst of all. With -the development of the feudal system in mediæval Europe, which made the -poor man, especially the peasant, dependent on the lord or owner of the -land he cultivated, the lords appropriated in time unlimited sway over -their vassals. Among other rights they claimed not only that to marry -him or her to whomsoever the lord might chose, but also absolute control -of the vassal’s newly wedded bride for the first three days and nights. -This custom, known by a variety of names, as “jus primæ noctis, droit de -cuissage,” “marchetta” or “marquette,” had the sanction of the state as -well as of the church and compelled newly married women to the most -dishonorable servitude. If the female serf pleased the lord he enjoyed -her, and it was from this custom, that the eldest son of the serf was -always held as the son of the lord, “as perchance it was he, who begot -him.” - -If it should happen that the young bride did not meet the fancy of the -lord, he let her alone, but in such case the husband had to redeem her -by paying the lord a certain amount of money, the name of which betrayed -its nature. - -Matilde Joslyn Gage in her able book “Woman, Church and State” has -devoted a whole chapter to the history of marquette and says: - -“The seigneural tenure of the feudal period was a law of Christian -Europe more dishonorable than the worship of Astarte at Babylon. In -order to fully comprehend the vileness of marquette we must remember -that it did not originate in the pagan country many thousand years -since; that it was not a heathen custom transplanted to Europe with many -others adopted by the church, but that it arose in Christian countries a -thousand years after the origin of that religion, continuing in -existence until within the last century.” - -She further states that in France even the Bishops of Amiens and the -canons of the cathedral of Lyons possessed the right over the women of -their vassals, and that in several counties of the Piccardy the curés -imitated the bishops and took the right of cuissage, when the bishop had -become too old to take his right. She also states, that “marquette began -to be abolished in France toward the end of the 16th Century, but still -existed in the 19th Century in the County of Auvergne, and that the -lower orders of the clergy were very unwilling to relinquish this usage, -vigorously protesting to their archbishops against the deprivation of -this right, declaring they could not be dispossessed. - -“But finally the reproach and infamy connected with the ‘droit de -cuissage’ became so great, and the peasants became so recalcitrant over -this nefarious exaction, that ultimately both lords spiritual and lords -temporal, fearing for their own safety, commenced to lessen their -demands.” - -From a letter, reproduced in the same book, it appears that instances of -the survival of the feudal idea as to the right of the lord to the -persons of his vassal woman occurred within the last decenniums of the -Nineteenth Century. This letter, written by Mr. D. R. Locke, and dated -December, 1891, reads: “One of the Landlords was shot a few years ago -and a great ado was made about it. In this case as in most of the others -it was not a question of rent. My Lord had visited his estates to see -how much more money could be taken out of his tenants, and his lecherous -eyes happened to rest upon a very beautiful girl, the eldest daughter of -a widow with seven children. Now this girl was betrothed to a nice sort -of boy, who, having been in America, knew a thing or two. My Lord, -through his agent, who is always a pimp as well as a brigand, ordered -Kitty to come to the castle. Kitty, knowing very well what that means, -refused. “Very well,” says the agent, “yer mother is in arrear for rent, -and you had better see My Lord, or I shall be compelled to evict -her.”—Kitty knew what that meant also. It meant that her gray-haired -mother, her six helpless brothers and sisters would be pitched out by -the roadside to die of starvation and exposure, and so Kitty, without -saying a word to her mother or anyone else, went to the castle and was -kept there three days, till My Lord was tired of her, when she was -permitted to go. She went to her lover, like an honest girl as she was, -and told him she would not marry him, but refused to give any reason. -Finally the truth was wrenched out of her, and Mike went and found a -shot-gun that had escaped the eye of the royal constabulary, and he got -powder and shot and old nails, and he lay behind a hedge under a tree -for several days. Finally one day My Lord came riding by all so gay, and -that gun went off. There was a hole, a blessed hole, clear through him, -and he never was so good a man as before because there was less of him. -Then Mike went out and told Kitty to be of good cheer and not to be cast -down, that the little difference between him and My Lord had been -settled, and that they would be married as soon as possible. And they -were married, and I had the pleasure of taking in my hand the very hand -that fired the blessed shot, and of seeing the wife, to avenge whose -cruel wrongs the shot was fired.” - -In the same work we read that another of these British lords in Ireland, -Leitram, was noted for his attempts to dishonor the wives and daughters -of the peasantry upon his vast estate. His character was equal to that -of the worst feudal barons, and like these he used his power as -magistrate and noble, in addition to that of landlord, to accomplish his -purpose. After an assault upon a beautiful and intelligent girl, by a -brutal retainer of his lordship, his tenantry finally declared it -necessary to resort to the last means in their power to preserve the -honor of their wives and daughters. Six men were chosen as the -instruments of their crude justice. They took an oath to be true to the -end, in life or death, purchased arms, and seeking a convenient -opportunity shot the tyrant to death. Nor were those firing the fatal -shots ever discovered. - -[Illustration] - - - THE DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS. - -As the Reformation aimed at the restitution of the purity and simplicity -of the first Christian communities, the position of woman in the Church -as well as in private life was of course also considered. - -As has been shown in former chapters, the authorities of the mediæval -Christian Church regarded the daughters of Eve not only as creatures -inferior to man, but also as the medium preferred by Satan above all -others to lead man astray. Seeing in woman nothing but a necessary evil, -they claimed also that a nun is purer than a mother, just as a celibate -monk is holier than a father. This prejudice of benighted theologians -against woman had influenced the conduct of the State toward the woman -and made her everywhere the victim of unjust laws. For a long time in -certain countries to ask rights for women exposed one to the suspicion -of infidelity. - -Therefore it must be regarded as an event of greatest importance in the -history of woman, when Martin Luther, the most prominent figure in the -Reformation, decided to take a wife. He married =Catherine von Bora=, a -lady twenty-four years of age, of a noble Saxon family. - -She had left the convent of Nimbschen together with eight other nuns in -order to worship Christ without being compelled to observe endless -ceremonies, which gave neither light to the mind nor peace to the soul. -Protected by pious citizens of Torgau, the former nuns had lived -together in retirement. Luther married his betrothed on June 11, 1525, -with Lucas Cranach and another friend as witnesses. The ceremony was -performed by Melanchton. - -The marriage, blessed with six children, was a very happy one. Catherine -proved to be a congenial mate, of whom Luther always spoke as “his -heartily beloved house-frau.” The great reformer himself was a tender -husband, and the most loving of fathers. Nothing he liked better than to -sit amidst his dear ones, enjoying a glass of wine and those beautiful -folk-songs, in which German literature is so rich. - -Many of these little poems breathe the sincere respect and high -appreciation, in which woman was held by the Germans since time -immemorial. There is for instance Simon Dach’s well known poem “Anne of -Tharau.” Written in 1637, it reads: - -[Illustration: - - THE WEDDING OF MARTIN LUTHER TO CATHERINE VON BORA. - - After a painting by P. Thumann. -] - - “Aennchen von Tharau ist’s die mir gefällt, - Sie ist mein Leben, mein Gut und mein Geld; - Aennchen von Tharau hat wieder ihr Herz - Auf mich gerichtet in Lieb und in Schmerz. - Aennchen von Tharau, mein Reichtum, mein Gut, - Du meine Seele, mein Fleisch und mein Blut. - - Würdest du gleich einmal von mir getrennt, - Lebtest dort, wo man die Sonne nicht kennt, - Ich will doch dir folgen durch Wälder und Meer, - Durch Schnee und Eis und durch feindliches Heer, - Aennchen von Tharau, mein Licht, meine Sonn’, - Mein Leben schliess ich um deines herum.— - - Annie of Tharau, ’tis she that I love, - She is my life and all riches above; - Annie of Tharau has giv’n me her heart, - We shall be lovers till death us do part! - Annie of Tharau, my kingdom, my wealth, - Soul of my body, and blood of my health. - - Say you should ever be parted from me, - Say that you dwelt where the sun they scarce see, - Where you go I go, o’er oceans and lands, - Prisons and fetters, and enemies’ hands. - Annie of Tharau, my sun and sunshine, - This life of mine will I throw around thine.” - -And who would be able to pay to female virtues a higher tribute than did -Paul Fleming in a poem, directed to his betrothed: - - “Ein getreues Herz zu wissen - Ist des höchsten Schatzes Preis; - Der ist selig zu begrüssen - Der ein solches Kleinod weiss. - Mir ist wohl bei tiefstem Schmerz - Denn ich weiss ein treues Herz. - - To call a faithful heart thine own - That’s life’s true and only pleasure, - And happy is the man alone - To whom was given such a treasure. - The deepest anguish does not smart - For I know a faithful heart.” - -This poem was written at the time, when the tempests of the Thirty -Years’ War swept over Germany, ruining that country beyond recognition. -Hundreds of cities and villages were burned by Spanish, Italian, -Hungarian, Dutch and Swedish soldiers, who made the unfortunate country -their battleground. Of the seventeen million inhabitants thirteen -millions were killed or swept away by starvation and the pest. -Agriculture, commerce, industries and arts were annihilated. Of many -villages nothing remained but their names. According to the chronicles -of these times, one could wander for many miles without seeing a living -creature except wolves and raven. All joy and happiness, in which the -German people had been so rich, were extinguished. To women the cup of -sorrow would never become empty, as hate, revenge, cruelty, and the -lowest passions combined to fill their lives with endless mental and -physical agonies. - -During these dreadful times such social gatherings as had become the -fashion among the refined people of Italy during the period of the -Renaissance, were of course out of the question. Far happier in this -respect was France, where the era of the “Salons” began, many of which -became known throughout Europe, for the inspiration and refinement that -spread out from them. - -It was to the exceptional qualities of a young and noble-minded woman of -Italian birth, that the first salon in France owed its origin and its -distinctive character. This lady was =Catherine Pisani=, the daughter of -Jean de Vivonne, Marquis of Pisani. Born at Rome in 1588, she married -the French Marquis of Rambouillet, with whom she moved to Paris. -Repelled by the gilded hollowness and license of the court of King Henry -IV. she retired, about the year 1608, to her husband’s stately palace, -which became famous as the “Hotel Rambouillet.” Its pride was a suite of -salons or parlors, arranged for purposes of reception and so devised as -to allow many visitors to move easily. With their draperies in blue and -gold, their cozy corners, choice works of art, Venetian lamps, and -crystal vases always filled with fragrant flowers, these rooms were -indeed ideal places for social and literary gatherings. - -As Amelia Gere Mason has described in a series of articles about the -French Salons, written for the “Century Magazine” of 1890, Mm. de -Rambouillet “sought to assemble here all that was most distinguished, -whether for wit, beauty, talent, or birth, into an atmosphere of -refinement and simple elegance which would tone down all discordant -elements and raise life to the level of a fine art. There was a strongly -intellectual flavor in the amusements, as well as in the discussions of -this salon, and the place of honor was given to genius, learning, and -good manners, rather than to rank. But the spirit was by no means purely -literary. The exclusive spirit of the old aristocracy, with its hauteur -and its lofty patronage, found itself face to face with fresh ideals. -The position of the hostess enabled her to break the traditional -barriers and form a society upon a new basis, but, in spite of the -mingling of classes hitherto separated, the dominant life was that of -the noblesse. Women of rank gave the tone and made the laws. Their code -of etiquette was severe. They aimed to combine the graces of Italy with -the chivalry of Spain. The model man must have a keen sense of honor and -wit without pedantry; he must be brave, heroic, generous, gallant, but -he must also possess good breeding and gentle courtesy. The coarse -passions and depraved manners which had disgraced the gay court of Henry -IV. were refined into subtle sentiments, and women were raised upon a -pedestal to be respectfully and platonically adored. In this reaction -from extreme license familiarity was forbidden, and language was -subjected to a critical censorship.” - -This definition of the salon of “the incomparable Arthenice”—an anagram -for Mme. de Rambouillet, devised by two poets of renown—we find -confirmed by the words of many distinguished men, who were fortunate -enough to be admitted to this circle. Among them were Corneille, -Descartes, and all the founders of the Académie Française. - -“Do you remember,” so said the eminent Abbé Fléchier many years later, -“the salons which are still regarded with so much veneration, where the -spirit was purified, where virtue was revered under the name of the -‘incomparable Arthenice’; where people of merit and quality assembled -who composed a select court, numerous without confusion, modest without -constraint, learned without pride, polished without affectation?”— - -The salon of Mme. de Rambouillet continued till the death of its -mistress, the 27th of December, 1665, having been, as Saint-Simon -writes, “a tribunal with which it was necessary to count, and whose -decisions upon the conduct and reputation of people of the court and the -world had great weight.” - -There were other salons, modeled more or less after the present one. -When the Hotel de Rambouillet was closed, Mademoiselle =Madeleine de -Scudéry= held regular reunions by receiving her friends on Saturdays. -Among this “Société du Samedi” were many authors and artists, who -conversed upon all topics of the day, from fashion to politics, from -literature and the arts to the last item of gossip. They read their -works and vied with one another in improvising verses. - -About the personality of Mlle. de Scudéry Abbé de Pure wrote: “One may -call her the muse of our age and the prodigy of her sex. It is not only -her goodness and her sweetness, but her intellect shines with so much -modesty, her sentiments are expressed with so much reserve, she speaks -with so much discretion, and all that she says is so fit and reasonable, -that one cannot help both admiring and loving her. Comparing what one -sees of her, and what one owes to her personally, with what she writes, -one prefers, without hesitation, her conversation to her works. Although -her mind is wonderfully great, her heart outweighs it. It is in the -heart of this illustrious woman that one finds true and pure generosity, -an immovable constancy, a sincere and solid friendship.” - -Fearing to lose her liberty Mlle. de Scudéry never married. “I know,” -she writes, “that there are many estimable men who merit all my esteem -and who can retain a part of my friendship; but as soon as I regard them -as husbands I regard them as masters, and so apt to become tyrants that -I must hate them from that moment; and I thank the gods for giving me an -inclination very much averse to marriage.” - -Under the pseudonym of “Sappho” Mlle. de Scudéry was acknowledged as the -first “blue-stocking” of France and of the world. Several of her novels, -in which she aimed at universal accomplishments, were the delight of all -Europe. Having studied mankind in her contemporaries, she knew how to -analyze and describe their characters with fidelity and point. - -Another noteworthy salon of the 17th Century was that of the beautiful -and amiable =Marquise de Sablé=, one of the favorites of Mme. de -Rambouillet. It was she who set the fashion, at that time, of condensing -the thoughts and experiences of life into maxims and epigrams. While -this was her special gift to literature, her influence became also felt -through what she inspired others to do. A few of her maxims, as proven -in Mrs. Mason’s articles about the French Salons, are worth copying, as -they show the estimate Mme. De Sablé placed upon form and measure in the -conduct of life. - -“A bad manner spoils everything, even justice and reason. The =how= -constitutes the best part of things; and the air which one gives -thoughts, gilds, modifies and softens the most disagreeable.”— - -“There is a certain command in the manner of speaking and acting which -makes itself felt everywhere, and which gains, in advance, consideration -and respect.”— - -“Wherever it is, love is always the master. It seems truly that it is to -the soul of the one who loves, what the soul is to the body it -animates.”— - -With the death of the Marquise de Sablé in 1678 the last salon of the -brilliant era of the Renaissance was closed. With the approach of that -period of affected and artificial life, known as the Rococo, new types -of women came to the surface, gay, witty, piquant and amusing, but lax -and without great moral sense or spiritual aspiration. The dangerous -influence of the many mistresses of Louis XIV. and Louis XV., of -Mesdames de Montespan, Maintenon and Pompadour pervaded the atmosphere, -and turned the salons into headquarters of intrigue and political -conspiracy. Especially at the time of the clever Mme. de Pompadour women -were everywhere the power, without which no movement could be carried -through successfully. “These women,” said the famous philosophical -historian Montesquieu, “form a kind of republic, whose members, always -active, aid and serve one another. It is a new state within the state; -and whoever observes the action of those in power, if he does not know -the women who govern them, is like a man who sees the action of a -machine but does not know its secret springs.” - -Montesquieu himself, when in Paris, made the salons of =Madame de -Tencin= and =Madame d’Aiguillon= his favorite resorts. - -Here he discussed with other brilliant thinkers of the time literary and -political questions, and those theories, which he embodied in the most -famous of his works: “Esprit des Lois” (the Spirit of the Laws). This -book, dealing with law in general, with forms of government, military -arrangements, taxation, economic matters, religion and individual -liberty, was the first open attack on absolutism. Put on the Index by -the Pope it was nevertheless eagerly read and discussed everywhere, and -thus it became one of the factors leading to the French Revolution.— - -Among the salons of the 18th Century, known for their influence on -scientific and political life, the most remarkable was that of the -=Marquise de Lambert=. Her magnificent apartments in the famous Palais -Mazarin, decorated by artists like Watteau, were a rendezvous for the -most eminent men and women, among them the best of the “Forty -Immortals,” or members of the Académie Française. As candidates for -vacant chairs in this body were often proposed here the Salon Lambert -was called “the Antechamber to Immortality.” - -The quality of the character and intellect of the hostess of this salon -may be judged from a few of the bits of advice she wrote to her son. “I -exhort you much more to cultivate your heart than to perfect your mind; -the true greatness of the man is in the heart.”—“Let your studies flow -into your manners, and your readings show themselves in your -virtues.”—“It is merit which should separate you from the people, not -dignity nor pride.”—“Too much modesty is a languor of the soul, which -prevents it from taking flight and carrying itself rapidly towards -glory.”—“Seek the society of your superiors, in order to accustom -yourself to respect and politeness. With equals one grows negligent; the -mind falls asleep.” She urged her daughter to treat servants with -kindness. “One of the ancients says they should be regarded as -unfortunate friends. Think that humanity and Christianity equalize -all.”— - -Up to the latter half of the 18th Century the salon had become the most -characteristic feature of Parisian society. Having multiplied -indefinitely, they catered to all tastes and thoughts. Besides the -rallying points for philosophers, literateurs and femmes d’esprit, there -were other salons, where sly maitresses and political adventurers met -the corrupt officials of the Government. Still other salons served as -meeting places of fiery spirits, who, disgusted with the debauchery and -unrestrained immorality of the ruling classes, made the discussion of -politics and the deliverance of the oppressed people their chief topic. - - * * * * * - -Like the French Renaissance so the English Renaissance received its -first impulse from Italy. But less concerned with culture as such, it -was more practical in England and distinguished itself chiefly by the -greater attention given to education. While the sons and daughters of -the nobility were carefully trained by tutors, the children of the -middle class received an education in grammar schools founded during the -reign of King Henry VIII. - -This interest in education was greatly stimulated by the doctrines of -the Reformation, which had spread from Germany to England, and which -were favored by the king, as they served his political interests as well -as his passion for the beautiful =Anne Boleyn=, one of the queen’s -ladies-in-waiting. That he divorced his wife and married Anne Boleyn, -and that she, on September 7th, 1533, gave birth to a girl, are facts -familiar to everyone acquainted with English history. - -This girl later on ascended the throne and as =Queen Elizabeth= became -famous as one of the most remarkable and illustrious of all female -sovereigns. - -Most remarkable was her attitude toward Rome. When the “Virgin Queen” in -her twenty-fifth year ascended the throne, it was not only as queen, but -also as the head of the rebellious Church. Religious strife had already -passed the point of reconciliation and Elizabeth’s position was -extremely difficult, as the Catholic party was still very strong and was -bent on maintaining the connection with Rome. Aware of this fact, the -Pope, claiming England as a fief of the Holy See, refused to recognize -Elizabeth’s title to the crown, and demanded that she should renounce -all her pretensions so much the more since she was an illegitimate -child. But whereas many monarchs would have cringed before the Pope, -Elizabeth ignored his demands and answered the subsequent bull by Pope -Pius V., by which all Catholics were released from their allegiance to -the queen, by the famous Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity. Striking -directly at the papal power, these acts compelled all clergymen and -public functionaries to renounce the temporal and spiritual jurisdiction -of every foreign prince and prelate; and all ministers, whether -beneficed or not, were forbidden to use any but the established liturgy. -These statutes were carried out with considerable severity, and many -Catholics suffered death. Thus bending priests and prelates to her fiery -will, the queen made England a bulwark of Protestantism. - -That the long reign of Elizabeth, which lasted from 1558 to 1603, was -also a period of brilliant prosperity and advancement, during which -England put forth her brightest genius, valor, and enterprise, has been -recorded by history. It is also a well-known fact that the learning of -Elizabeth was considerable, even in that age of learned ladies. Horace -Walpole has assigned her a place in his “Catalogue of Royal and Noble -Authors,” and a list of thirteen literary productions, chiefly -translations from the Greek, Latin, and French, are attached to her -name. - -There were quite a number of English ladies interested in literature and -poetry. The most remarkable was =Mary Astell=, born in 1668 at -Newcastle-on-Tyne. Having received a careful education by her uncle, a -clergyman, she continued her studies in London. Here her attention and -efforts were especially directed to the mental uplift of her own sex, -and in 1697 she published a work entitled, “A Serious Proposal to the -Ladies, Wherein a Method is Offered for the Improvement of Their Minds.” -With the same end in view she elaborated a scheme for a ladies’ college, -which was favorably entertained by Queen Anne, and would have been -carried out had not Bishop Burnet interfered. - -During the reign of Queen Elizabeth England was called “the Paradise of -Women,” on account of the great liberty, granted to them in all social -affairs. There exists an interesting account of a Dutch traveller, Van -Meteren, who spent some time in England. With surprise he saw that here -the members of the fair sex enjoyed considerable freedom. “They are,” so -he says, “not shut up as in Spain and elsewhere, and yet the young girls -are better behaved than in the Netherlands. Having fine complexions, -they also do not paint like the Italians and others. They sit before -their doors, decked in fine clothes, in order to see and be seen by the -passers-by. In all banquets and feasts they are shown the greatest -honor: they are placed at the upper end of the table where they are the -first served. All the rest of their time they employ in walking and -riding, in playing cards, or visiting their friends and keeping company, -conversing with their equals and neighbors, and making merry with them -at child-birth, christening, churchings and funerals. And all this with -the permission and knowledge of their husbands.” - -In strange contrast herewith was the legal position of women. It was, as -D. Staars says in his interesting book “The English Woman,” “entirely -detrimental. They were under the absolute authority of their husbands. -In regard to property, husband and wife were considered by the law as -forming one indivisible person. Therefore a husband could not make a -deed of gift to his wife, or make a contract with her. The subordinate -position of the married women was evident in the whole of her existence. -The husband was his wife’s guardian, and if anyone carried her off he -had a right to claim damages. He could also inflict corporal punishment -on her sufficient to correct her. All the property which she might -afterwards acquire, became by her marriage the common property of -husband and wife, but only the husband had a right to the income, -because he alone had control and administration of the property. Not -only lands, but also funds, furniture, plate, and even the bed and -ornaments of a woman, all became the husband’s property on the wedding -day, and he could sell or dispose of it as he pleased. A married woman -could not even make a will. Only when she became a widow, her clothes -and personal possessions again became her own property, provided, -however, that her husband had not otherwise disposed of them in his -will. Furthermore, she had a right to the income of a third of all the -husband’s property.” - -These unsatisfactory conditions later on caused the English women to -join their American sisters in the struggle for emancipation. - -[Illustration] - - - PIONEER WOMEN IN THE NEW WORLD. - -At the same time that ladies and gentlemen of refinement discussed human -rights and liberty in the elegant salons of Italy and France, a race of -hardy men and women amid the wilderness of the New World was engaged in -establishing crude settlements, from which later on the spirit of -genuine freedom should radiate throughout the world. - -When toward the end of the 16th Century European explorers arrived on -the eastern coast of the North American continent, they found what later -times demonstrated beyond dispute: the richest and finest land on the -face of the globe. The unsurpassed beauty and grandeur of the scenery -stirred their hearts with surprise and admiration. They became -enthusiastic about everything, and in their reports described the newly -discovered country as the most wonderful they had ever seen. - -The more these explorers saw of America, the more their amazement -increased. When Henry Hudson in 1609 discovered that noble river which -now bears his name, its magnificent shores were a revelation to him, who -was accustomed to the modest surroundings of the Netherlands. - -The French, who entered North America by the way of the St. Lawrence -River, met with still greater surprises. The Great Lakes, stretching -like oceans toward the setting sun, thundering Niagara, the royal Ohio, -the majestic Mississippi, and the beautiful forests girding these -shores, made their hearts beat with wonder and delight and filled their -imagination with dreams of vast empires full of wealth. Beyond the -“Father of Waters” and the regions of forest, the explorers found the -“Prairies,” boundless seas of fragrant grass and beautiful flowers. -Beyond these plains rose majestic mountain-chains, with lovely valleys -and parks, and snow-capped domes, towering above the clouds. - -Such majestic nature must of necessity exert a most powerful influence -on all who came in contact with it. Many of those immigrants who in -their native countries had been restrained by narrow traditions and -customs, and oppressed by despotic rulers, were here given the first -chance to develop and prove their abilities. The unlimited freedom of -the boundless forests, plains, and mountains stimulated their energy and -imbued them with a spirit of enterprise, hitherto unknown. - -New types of heroic men, such as never had lived in Europe, sprang into -existence: the trappers, traders and “voyageurs,” who in the pursuit of -the lucrative fur trade penetrated the vast continent in all directions, -fighting their way through countless hardships and dangers. - -[Illustration: - - PIONEERS. - - Modeled by A. Jaegers. -] - -Later on these daring forerunners of civilization were followed by -settlers, who, with their families, established the first permanent -homes: single log houses and hamlets, like little islands in the vast -ocean of the primeval forest. - -[Illustration: - - THE FIRST CABIN. -] - -These “backwoodsmen,” completely isolated from the civilized world and -compelled to wage constant battle with hostile nature as well as with -ferocious savages and wild animals, have been justly glorified as -heroes. They were at once explorers, carpenters, builders, woodmen, -farmers, breeders, trappers, hunters and fighters,—in short, everything. -But their wives and daughters, who accompanied them, certainly deserve -to be honored too, as one can hardly conceive situations more trying -than those which these courageous women had to face. - -First of all there were the daily labors of the household and farm, the -unceasing cares of motherhood, the toils and sufferings in times of -drought or sickness. Because of the isolation of their homesteads, void -of even the slightest comforts and improvements, these women had to toil -from early morning till late in the night. They worked with their -husbands, clearing the lands. They planted and raised the vegetables in -the little kitchen gardens. They prepared the meals, baked the bread, -did the washing and scrubbing, the milking, preserving, pickling, -churning and brewing. They also broke and heckled the flax, from which -they spun the linens. They sheared the sheep and transformed the wool -into yarn and cloth, which they dyed, cut and turned into suits and -dresses. They knitted the socks and underwear, made the candles and many -of the furnishings, in short, they produced whatever the family needed -and consumed, giving all and asking little. They even helped to defend -the cabin and the settlement in times of danger. - -[Illustration: - - DEFENDING A SETTLEMENT. - - After an old engraving. -] - -In the days of the Indian wars and of the Revolution such danger was -always imminent, particularly when the men were working in the fields, -or out hunting to provide food for the family. Then the women, with -loaded guns, stood guard to protect the home and children from lurking -enemies. - -The chronicles relating incidents of border warfare abound with stories -of heroines who played conspicuous parts in the defense of single log -houses, as well as of stations and forts. Moulding the bullets and -loading the guns, they handed them to the men, who could consequently -fire three times where they otherwise could have fired but once. If -there happened to be a lull during the fight, the women carried water -and food to the smoke-blackened fighters, tended the wounded, baked -bread and cared for the children. In cases of emergency, they stood at -the loop-holes, firing the rifles with all the skill and precision of -men. - -When, during the War of Independence, the Mohawk Valley became the scene -of many horrible ravages by the Indians and Tories, Christian Schell, a -Palatine, together with his wife and six sons, occupied a lonely log -house. It was in the early hours of August 6, 1781, when 48 Indians and -16 Tories made a sudden raid upon this family. Schell and his sons were -working in the field, but detected the enemy soon enough to make their -escape to the house. All succeeded in reaching it, except the two -youngest lads, who were captured by an Indian. The latter was shot by -Schell, but it was impossible to free the boys, as they were hurried off -by other Indians. - -Then the battle commenced and an almost incessant firing was kept up -until night, =Mrs. Schell= assisting her husband and sons in loading the -guns. Several times the attacks of the enemy were repelled. But when -darkness had set in, McDonald, the leader of the Tories, succeeded in -reaching the door of the cabin and attempted to force an entrance by -using a crowbar he had found in front of the house. Suddenly a shot from -Schell hit him in the leg and brought him down. Quick as lightning the -bold German unbarred the door, grasped the wounded man and dragged him -in a prisoner, thus saving the house from being set fire to, for in such -a case the leader of the attacking party within, would likewise have -perished in the flames. - -Enraged by the capture of their leader, the enemy made several furious -assaults. Jumping close to the house, they thrust their guns through the -loop-holes and began to fire into the building. But Mrs. Schell, cool -and courageous, seized an axe and by well-directed blows spoiled every -gun by destroying the barrels. As the men opened a terrific fire from -above at the same time, the besiegers fell back in a hurry, and the -following morning disappeared, having suffered a loss of twenty-three -dead and wounded. - -Another example of noble-spirited womanhood is that of =Elizabeth Zane=, -a young girl of seventeen years, living near Fort Henry in West -Virginia. When in November, 1782, the fort was besieged by several -hundred Indians and the little garrison of forty-two men had been -reduced to only twelve, the situation became extremely desperate, as the -supply of powder was nearly exhausted. - -There was a full keg of powder hidden in the cabin of the Zanes, but -this hut stood some ninety yards from the gate of the fort and could be -reached only by passing the whole distance under fire of the Indians, a -feat which seemed altogether hopeless. But the perilous attempt had to -be made. When the commander of the fort called for volunteers, several -responded, among them, to the general surprise, Elizabeth Zane. She -argued that the garrison of the fort was already too weak for the life -of one of the soldiers to be risked. As her own life was of no -importance, she claimed the privilege of attempting the dangerous task. -Refusing to listen to any objection, Miss Zane slipped out of the gate -and strolled leisurely to her home, as though there were no redskins in -the whole world. The Indians, wondering what it meant, made no attempt -to molest the girl. - -Entering the cabin, she found the keg of powder, and a few minutes later -reappeared with the keg concealed under a tablecloth. Not before the -girl had gone some distance did the Indians realize the meaning of the -girl’s mission and at once opened a brisk fire on her. But the girl sped -with the fleetness of a fawn and reached the fort in safety amid a -shower of bullets, several of which passed through her clothes. By this -daring act the little garrison was so inspired and fought with such -tenacity that the Indians despaired of capturing the fort and finally -retreated.— - -In 1787 John Merrill, a settler in Nelson County, Kentucky, was awakened -one night by the furious barking of his dogs. Opening the door of his -cabin to reconnoitre, he was shot by several Indians, but managed to bar -the door, before sinking dead to the floor. His wife, a woman of great -energy and strength, jumped out of bed, grasped a large axe and sprang -forward to be prepared for the coming attack. Scarcely had she reached -the door when the Indians began to chop it down with their tomahawks. -But as soon as the savages sought to enter the breach, the woman, making -a terrific effort, killed or badly wounded four of the enemy. - -Foiled in their attempt to force the door, some of the redskins climbed -onto the roof of the cabin and tried to enter by way of the chimney. But -again the solitary woman confronted them. Snatching her featherbed and -hastily ripping it open, she flung its contents upon the still glowing -embers. At once a furious blaze and stifling smoke ascended the chimney, -overcoming two of the Indians. Dazed, they fell down into the fire, -where they were instantly dispatched with the axe. Then, with a quick -side stroke, the woman inflicted a terrible gash in the cheek of the -only remaining savage, whose head just appeared in the breach of the -door. With a horrible yell the intruder withdrew, to be seen no more. - -In Western Pennsylvania, in the year 1792, there stood some twenty-five -miles from Pittsburgh the crude cabin of a settler, named Harbisson. One -day, during his absence, the home was attacked by Indians, who, after -ransacking the house, carried off the wife prisoner. But there were -three children, two boys aged five and three respectively, and an -infant. As the mother had no hand for the little fellow of three, one of -the savages relieved her from this embarrassment by grasping the child, -whirling it through the air and smashing his head against a tree. And -when the older brother began to weep, his crying was stopped forever by -cutting his throat. The mother fainted at the horrible sight, but the -savages brought her back to consciousness again by giving her a few -blows across the face. At night the poor woman noticed one of the -savages busying himself with making two small hoops. The captive watched -him with languid curiosity and saw that he had something in his hand. -Then a flash of horror-struck recognition flickered in the woman’s eyes. -She saw the bloody scalps of her children, which the savage was -stretching on the hoops to dry. “Few mothers,” so the unfortunate woman -said afterwards, “have been subjected to such dreadful trials. Those who -did not see the scalps of their own children torn from their heads and -handled in such a way, cannot imagine the horrible pain that tortured my -heart!” - -In the dark of the second night the poor mother managed to make her -escape. It rained in torrents, but hugging the baby to her breast, she -entered the endless forest and wandered the whole night and the next -days, making her way to the settlements. She arrived there on the sixth -day after incredible sufferings and almost starved. So changed was she -by the many hardships, that her nearest neighbors failed to recognize -her. The skin and flesh of her feet and legs was hanging in pieces, -pierced by hundreds of thorns, some of which went through her feet and -came out a long time afterwards at the top.— - -[Illustration: - - SLAUGHTERED. - - A scene during the Seminole Indian War. -] - -Such were the hardships and dangers the women of the settlers had to -brave. But they endured their sufferings like heroines. In recognition -of this fact it may justly be said that the establishment of the -Republic of the United States of America, one of the grandest -achievements in all history, would not have been possible without their -aid. For it was among these hardy men and women that the spirit of -American liberty was born. Their surroundings and manner of life -compelled them to rely on themselves in everything. And while they -assisted one another in all embarrassments and perils, they made their -own regulations and selected their own officials, fully aware, that the -laws of England would never suffice for the wilderness. - -From those autonomous settlements the spirit of independence spread in -time to all the towns and cities on the coast, inspiring many of their -inhabitants with the same enthusiasm for liberty. In New York and other -places the People’s Party was organized, which strongly opposed the -insolence and encroachments of the Government and aristocrats. Among its -members was Peter Zenger, the fearless printer, whose caustic articles -in the “New York Weekly Journal” in 1735 led to that famous trial, -whereby one of the highest privileges—=the freedom of the press=—became -established in America. And when in complete disregard of this -significant omen England continued in her selfish policies toward the -colonies, curtailing all privileges which had been granted to them by -their charters, the spirit of rebellion spread like wildfire, and the -great struggle for independence began. - -When a Declaration of Independence was considered, the men, selected to -draw up such a document, were greatly influenced by two noble-minded -women, whose names should not be omitted in a history of remarkable -women: =Mrs. Mercy Otis Warren=, and =Abigail Smith Adams=. Mrs. Warren -was a sister of James Otis, the famous lawyer, whose fiery words did so -much to arouse the colonists against British aggression. She was one of -the first persons who advocated separation, and she energetically -impressed this view upon John Adams before the opening of the first -Congress. With Abigail Smith Adams, the wife of John Adams, she shared -the belief, that the declaration should not consider the freedom of man -alone, but that of woman also. - -How outspoken Mrs. Adams was in her views about this question, appears -in a letter she wrote in March, 1776, to her husband, who was then -attending the Continental Congress. In this letter she says: “I long to -hear you have declared an independency; and, by the way, in the new code -of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire -you would remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to -them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands -of husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If -particular care and attention are not paid to the ladies, we are -determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound to -obey any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”— - -[Illustration: - - STRUGGLING FOR INDEPENDENCE. -] - -The Declaration of Independence, accepted on July 4th, 1776, in -Philadelphia, by an assembly of delegates from all the colonies, is the -greatest and most important political document that was ever set up and -signed by men. Although the representatives knew that it would produce a -long and terrific war against the most powerful and most inconsiderate -government of the world, they solemnly agreed to choose liberty or -death. Liberty to make their own laws and to elect their own officials, -liberty of religion, liberty of speech and press, liberty of trade and -commerce, liberty for man, woman and child. - -The eminent significance of the declaration becomes apparent from the -following sentences: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all -men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with -certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the -pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are -instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the -governed. That, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of -these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and -to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, -and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most -likely to effect their safety and happiness.” - -While the Declaration of Independence is silent in regard to women, -there are, however, positive proofs of the fact, that the men of 1776 -regarded their faithful partners in all struggles and danger decidedly -as their equals and entitled to the same rights and privileges. Two days -before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, on July 2, 1776, -the Provincial Assembly of New Jersey, when writing the constitution of -that province, adopted the provision, that “=all inhabitants= of this -colony, of full age, who are worth fifty pounds money clear estate in -the same, and have resided within the county in which they claim to vote -for twelve months immediately preceding the election, shall be entitled -to vote for representatives in council and assembly, and also for all -other public officers that shall be elected by the people of the county -at large.”— - -Under this provision, women and free colored men of property exercised -the electoral franchise for thirty years, voting also in the -Presidential election of 1804, when Thomas Jefferson was re-elected for -a second term. The acts of the New Jersey Legislature of 1790 clearly -recognized the women, voters, saying: - -“No person shall be entitled to vote in any other town-house or precinct -than that in which =he= or =she= doth actually reside at the time of -election.” - -At first the law was construed to admit single women only, but afterward -it was made to include females eighteen years old, married or single, -without distinction of race. But as most of the women were on the side -of the Federation and always delivered a heavy vote, a Democratic -legislature, to defranchise Federalists, passed in 1807 an act defining -the qualifications of electors, excluding women and free colored men by -the use of the words “White =male= citizens.” This was a partisan piece -of legislature, clearly in violation of the constitutional guarantee, -and made under the pretext that male voters, by disguising themselves as -women and negroes, had voted several times. It was on the strength of -this pretext that the unconstitutional act was passed and upheld. - -It is on record that in Virginia likewise women at an early day -exercised the right of voting. But it is unknown, for what reason this -right was not preserved. - -[Illustration] - - - WOMEN OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. - -There are few events in history that created such world-wide interest as -the triumphant success of the American War for Liberation. The deepest -impression was made on the French nation, which for centuries had -suffered under the tyranny and coercion of extravagant kings, corrupt -officials, greedy clergy and feudal nobility. In sharp contrast to the -prodigality and lasciviousness of the court and its armies of courtiers -and courtesans, who all revelled in luxuries, there was among the people -a general feeling of misery and despair. Finances were in a frightful -condition; public scandals were every-day occurrences; famines were -frequent; the old creeds had lost their power to arouse enthusiasm, -while out-worn institutions and customs still encumbered the land, and -with their dead weight pressed men down. The deep longing to be -delivered from all these parasites and encumbrances, the urgent need of -reforms and relief was evident everywhere. In the streets, in all cafés, -clubs and salons the discussion of politics was the foremost topic. - -The most conspicuous among such political salons were those of -=Théroigne de Méricourt=, =Marie Olympe de Gouges=, and =Madame Roland=. - -The first of these three ladies was a quick-witted, strikingly handsome -woman, intensely passionate in temper, and commanding an almost volcanic -power of eloquence. Her salon was the birth-place of the “Club des Amis -de la Loi,” the most noteworthy members of which were Jerome Pétion, -author of “Les Lois Civiles,” and Camille Desmoulins, author of “La -France Libre.” Both writers were among the leaders of the revolution, -and it was Desmoulins, who in July, 1789, inflamed the people by his -violent speeches to take up arms and storm the Bastille. At the fall of -this ill-reputed prison Théroigne de Méricourt came prominently into -notice and it was she who proposed to erect a temple for the National -Assembly on the site of the razed fortress. - -With her friends she also had a hand in framing the “Déclaration des -Droits de l’Homme,” which, together with the American Declaration of -Independence, ranks among the greatest human documents of history. The -most important points of this charter of the French Revolution are: that -all men are born and continue free and equal in rights; that Society is -an association of men to preserve the natural rights of men; that -Sovereignty is vested in the nation; that all Authority, held by an -individual or a body of men, comes expressly from the nation; that -Liberty is the power of doing what we will, so long as it does not -injure the same right of others; that the law can forbid only such -actions as are mischievous to society; that Law is the expression of the -general will; that all citizens have a right to take part, through their -representatives, in the making of laws; that laws must be equal to all; -that all citizens have equal rights to fulfill all offices in the state; -that society has a right to demand from every public servant an account -of his administration; that all men are free to hold what religious -views they will, provided that they are not subversive of public order; -that freedom of speech, of writing and printing is one of the most -precious of the rights of man and that public force is needed to -guarantee these rights; that property is an inviolable and sacred right, -of which no one can be deprived, save when public necessity, legally -established, evidently demands it, and then only with the condition of a -just and previously determined indemnity. - -With the adoption of this declaration by the national assembly, all -hereditary distinctions, such as nobility and peerage, feudal regime, -titles, and orders of chivalry were abolished, also venality or -hereditary succession in offices, feudal privileges, religious vows or -other engagements which might be at variance with natural rights or the -constitution.— - -Early in October, 1789, Théroigne de Méricourt also took a leading part -in the march of the women to Versailles and it was she who by the -violence of her speech won the royalist soldiers over to the revolution -and so enforced the return of the royal family to Paris. - -Being accused of dangerous conduct and of having been engaged in a plot -against the life of the queen Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Empress -Maria Theresia of Austria, during a visit to Liége she was seized by -warrant of the Austrian Government and for some time interned at the -fortress of Kufstein. After her release in January, 1792, she returned -to Paris, where she was hailed as a martyr of liberty. Resuming her -former role she again became very active in all public affairs. On June -20, 1792, she even commanded in person the 3d Corps of the so-called -army of the Faubourges, and marched with them to the palace, where the -king, wearing the red cap, met the revolutionists and assured them “that -he would do whatever the constitution ordained that he should do.” But -as soon afterwards the king’s secret connections with Austria and -Prussia became public, the insurrection broke loose again, resulting in -the massacre of the national guard on August 10th, in the Place Véndome. -It was here, that Théroigne sprang at Suleau, a pamphleteer in royal -service, and dragged him among the infuriated mob, where he was -instantly killed.— - -It was a year before these incidents that Madame Roland opened a salon -in Paris, whither her husband had been sent as the deputy from Lyons to -the constituent assembly. Her salon had nothing in common with those -frequented by people seeking recreation in conversation and belle -esprit. Generally there were no women present except the hostess. But -her salon was the rendezvous of such fiery spirits as Mirabeau, Brissot, -Vergniaud, Robespierre and others, interested in the great movement, -which was soon to reach its climax. It was in this salon that Madame -Roland impressed her enthusiasm for a republic upon those men who -likewise strove for progress and liberty. Here also she conceived the -plan of a journal, entitled “The Republican,” which, however, was -suppressed after its second issue. Here she penned that famous letter to -the king, which, as it remained unanswered, was read aloud by her -husband, the king’s appointed Minister of the Interior, in full council -and in the king’s presence. Containing many terrible truths as to the -royal refusal to sanction the decrees of the national assembly and as to -the king’s position in the state, this letter initiated the dethronement -of the king and the abolition of royalty.— - -It was in these troubled times, also, that another remarkable woman -attracted great attention by matching the “Declaration of the rights of -man” with a “Declaration des Droits de la Femme,” a declaration of the -rights of women. In this document she preached for the first time not -only the principle of equality of both sexes but she also demanded the -right of women to vote and to hold public offices. This document was -published just at the time when the equality of both sexes before the -law and the guillotine had become a recognized fact, when not only the -head of the king but also that of the queen Marie Antoinette had rolled -into the dust. Pointing to these events Olympe de Gouges closed her -manifesto with the flaming words: “When women have the right to ascend -the scaffold then they must have the right to mount the platform of the -orator!” - -When Olympe de Gouges wrote these lines, she hardly anticipated her own -fate. Provoking in some way the anger of Robespierre, this rabid tyrant -did send her also to the guillotine.— - -Théroigne de Méricourt likewise fell a victim of the furious hostility, -which in 1793 arose between the two leading parties, the Girondists and -the Montagnards, the latter party led by those most extreme autocrats as -Marat, Danton and Robespierre. When Théroigne, being aware that her own -party, the Gironde, was in peril at the hands of these bloodthirsty men, -one day urged the mob to moderate their courses, she was seized, -stripped naked and flogged in the public garden of the Tuilleries. This -infamous affront affected her so that she became a raving maniac, never -recovering her reason.— - -[Illustration: - - THE ROLL-CALL FOR THE GUILLOTINE. - - After the painting by C. L. Mueller. -] - -For Madame Roland and her husband too the day of darkness was soon to -come. They found that they could no longer control those passions -which they had helped to call forth. Repulsed by the incredible -excesses, which were committed during the progress of the revolution, -Mr. Roland sent in his resignation on January 22, 1793, the day after -the execution of the king. But all his and his wife’s efforts to -regulate and elevate the Revolution failed. Both became more and more -the butt of calumny and the object of increasing dislike on the part -of the ultra-revolutionists, whose leaders, Marat and Danton, heaped -the foulest falsehoods upon them. At the instigation of these men -Madame Roland was arrested early on the morning of the last of July, -1793, and thrown into the same prison cell, that had been occupied by -Charlotte Corday a short time before. On November the 8th she was -conveyed to the guillotine. Before yielding her head to the block, she -bowed before the statue of Liberty, erected in the Place de la -Revolution, uttering her famous apostrophe: “O Liberty! what crimes -are committed in thy name!”— - -After the elimination of the three leading spirits of woman’s -emancipation all attempts to claim political rights for women were -sternly repressed. The bold deed of Charlotte Corday, who on July 17th, -1793, killed Marat, the chief of the Mountain party, had given to his -followers a warning of what resolute women were able to do. And so all -female clubs and political meetings were forbidden by the Convention. -Women were even excluded from the galleries of the hall where it sat, -and Chaumette warned them that by entering into politics they would -violate the law of nature and would be punished accordingly. French -girls were also entirely excluded from all educational reforms that were -instituted by the Convention and, later on, by Napoleon, who always -maintained that female education should be of the most rudimentary -description. - - * * * * * - -At the same time that Olympe de Gouges, Théroigne de Méricourt and -Madame Roland took such a conspicuous part in the French Revolution, -there appeared in England a most remarkable book, which might be called -the first comprehensive attempt to establish the equality of the sexes. -Its authoress was =Mary Wollstonecraft=, a woman of Irish extraction, -born at Hoxton on April 27, 1759. Compelled to earn her own living, she, -together with her sisters, had conducted a school for girls. Later on -she held a position as governess in the family of Lord Kingsborough, in -Ireland. Among her early publications are “Thoughts on the Education of -Daughters” (1787) and “The Female Reader” (1789). That she followed the -events of the French Revolution with the utmost interest, appears from -her book: “An Historical and Moral View of the Origin and Progress of -the French Revolution, and the Effects it has Produced in Europe.” It -was intended to comprise several volumes, but after the first one had -been published in 1790, the work remained unfinished. Two years later, -in 1792, appeared the work with which the name of Mary Wollstonecraft is -always associated, as from this book was born one of the grandest -movements which exists in the world to-day—the =Woman Suffrage -Movement=. - -This book, entitled “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” was a sharp -protest against the assumption that woman is only a plaything of man. It -is also a demand on her to become his equal and his companion. - -In the preface the authoress states the “main argument” of her work, -“built on this simple principle that, if woman be not prepared by -education to become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of -knowledge, for truth must be common to all, or it will be inefficacious -with respect to its influence or general practice.” In carrying out this -argument she explains that woman can never be free until she is free -economically; it makes no difference how poetic, romantic and chivalrous -we become,—the fact is, there can be little equality between the sexes -as long as the male partner has entire charge of the purse. Woman may be -free socially; she may get rid of all sexual superstition, and she may -crack and cast from her all theological trammels: but of what value is -all this if she is still dependent upon man for food, raiment and -shelter? What good does it do her to say “My body is my own, subject to -the whims and lusts of no man,” if upon that very man depends her -livelihood? Woman’s economic dependence is the root of that tree which -nourishes the poisonous fruits of her subjection and abject slavery. -Only when woman is on equal terms with man, can she be really virtuous -and useful. But this result can only be obtained by rejecting the -fallacious idea of weakness and refusing man’s help. - -After that the authoress states, that woman by open air exercise can -become healthy and strong. By study she can acquire a solid education -and useful knowledge, and thus become fit to earn her own living. -Marriage will then cease to be her sole hope of salvation. If she -marries she must not expect infinite romantic love from her husband, -that would be an endeavor to perpetuate what is transitory in its very -essence. From her husband she should require esteem and friendship. But -before she can ask for or inspire these sentiments she must have shown -herself a lofty mind and a sincere, benevolent, and independent temper. - -“But this ideal will remain a myth unless the system of education is -entirely changed. It is the duty of the Government to organize schools -and colleges, for boys and girls, both rich and poor, and of all ages.” - -Mary Wollstonecraft recommends that boys and girls should study -together. She does not regard as an evil the attachment which might -result under these conditions. On the contrary, she is an advocate of -early marriage, and believes that the physical and moral health of young -people would be greatly benefited thereby. “Do not separate the sexes, -but accustom them to each other from infancy!” she demands. “By this -plan such a degree of equality should be established between the sexes -as would break up gallantry and coquetry, yet allow friendship and love -to temper the heart for the discharge of higher duties.” - -Thus asking the widest opportunities of education for women, she demands -also her participation in industry, political knowledge, and the rights -of representation. - -While Mary Wollstonecraft in this manner advanced progressive ideas, she -also discussed several questions, dangerous and explosive at that time. -In regard to marriage she recommended emancipation from the coercions -and ceremonies imposed upon all Christians by the Church. And where love -had ceased, divorce should be made easy. These points, together with her -extraordinary plainness of speech and her denial of the eternity of the -torments of hell, caused an outcry of all classes, to whom the dust of -tradition was sacred, or who saw their assumed authority endangered. The -air grew thick with insults and insinuations, hurled at the champion of -such principles by churchmen feeding on their worn-out thistle-creeds. -There were also the shrill, polished shrieks of society, whose -antiquated dogmas Mary Wollstonecraft had repudiated. But the impulse, -given by her, did not die. It became the heritage of later and more -advanced generations, who have tried to realize the ideas of this most -remarkable woman of the 18th Century. - -[Illustration] - - - WOMAN’S ENTRY INTO INDUSTRY. - -Since the stirring years of the American War of Independence and of the -French Revolution the question of woman’s rights and woman suffrage has -remained constantly before the public. Its significance greatly -increased when with the invention of steam-engines, with the rapid -growth and extension of trade and commerce, and with the introduction of -modern methods all conditions of industrial life likewise became -revolutionized. Many of those industries in which women participated, -were transferred from the homes to factories, where the workmen and -women were placed at machines, producing within one day greater -quantities of goods than the laborers formerly had manufactured within -weeks or months. - -With this industrial revolution came, however, also many evils. The -laborers remained no longer masters of their own time and efforts. While -hitherto they had been the owners of their little industry, now the -factory owners and the great industries began to own them. They found -themselves bound by strict rules, not of their own making, but -prescribed and enforced by their employers, many of whom had not the -slightest consideration for the people that worked for them. Just as -soulless as their machines, and thinking only of gain, they abused their -employees wherever possible, and in doing so often resorted to the -meanest tricks. - -Nowhere did such evils become so appalling as in England, where the -politicians subordinated all other considerations to industry. It was -here that in order to reduce the small wages of the workman cheap woman- -and child-labor was first introduced on a large scale, and feeble, -defenseless creatures, without experience and organization, were -subjected to the most cruel oppression and exploitation. - -At the end of the 18th and during the first half of the 19th Century -large numbers of women and pauper children were shipped from the -agricultural districts of Southern England to the northern districts to -work in the factories which had been established there in consequence of -the superior water-power. - -Tender women and girls, and even children from six to ten years were -placed in cotton mills, where they were compelled to work in overcrowded -rooms thirteen to fourteen hours daily. Robert Mackenzie in his book -“The Nineteenth Century,” p. 77, states, that the accommodations -provided for these people were of the most wretched nature. “If such -children became over-tired and fell asleep they were flogged. Sometimes -through exhaustion they fell upon the machinery and were -injured—possibly crushed,—an occurrence which caused little concern to -any except the mothers, who had learned to bear their pangs in silence. -These children, who were stunted in size and disposed to various acute -diseases, were often scrofulous and consumptive.” - -The Encyclopædia Britannica, in an article on Socialism, describes the -conditions of the working people in England at that time as follows: -“The English worker had no fixed interest in the soil. He had no voice -either in local or national government. He had little education or none -at all. His dwelling was wretched in the extreme. The right even of -combination was denied him. The wages of the agricultural laborer were -miserably low. The workman’s share in the benefits of the industrial -revolution was doubtful. Great numbers of his class were reduced to -utter poverty and ruin by the great changes consequent to the -introduction of improved machinery; the tendency to readjustment was -slow and continually disturbed by fresh change. The hours of work were -mercilessly long. He had to compete against the labor of women, and of -children brought frequently at the age of five or six from the -workhouses. These children had to work the same long hours as the -adults, and they were sometimes strapped by the overseers till the blood -came. Destitute as they so often were of parental protection and -oversight, with both sexes huddled together under immoral and unsanitary -conditions, it was only natural that they should fall into the worst -habits and that their offspring should to such a lamentable degree be -vicious, improvident, and physically degenerate.” - -A report, delivered at the “International Congress of Women,” held in -July, 1899, at London, states that the weak legs of those children, -which were not strong enough to support the body for hours, were -sustained by boots of wood and lead, in which they were obliged to -stand. Hence the high scale of mortality among the children. - -Most revolting conditions prevailed in the English coal mines. Married -women, girls and children worked here, harnessed to trucks and nearly -naked, dragging on their hands and knees loads of coal through long low -galleries to the pit mouth. - -When some philanthropists made complaints about these conditions, -Parliament instituted a commission to inquire into the state of working -women in these mines and the wages paid them. From its official report -we quote the following: “Betty Harris, one of the numerous persons -examined, aged thirty-seven, drawer in the coal-pit, said: ‘I have a -belt around my waist and a chain between my legs to the truck, and I go -on my hands and feet. The road is very steep and we have to hold by a -rope, and when there is no rope, by anything we can catch hold of. There -are six women and about six boys and girls in the pit I work in; it is -very wet, and the water comes over our clog-tops always, and I have seen -it up to my thighs; my clothes are always wet.’— - -“Margaret Hibbs, aged eighteen, said: ‘My employment after reaching the -wall-face (the place where the coal is broken) is to fill my bagie or -stype with two and a half or three hundred-weight of coal; I then hook -it on to my chain and drag it through the seam, which is from twenty-six -to twenty-eight inches high, till I get to the main road, a good -distance, probably two hundred to four hundred yards. The pavement I -drag over is wet, and I am obliged at all times to crawl on my hands and -feet with my bagie hung to the chain and ropes. It is sad, sweating, -sore and fatiguing work, and frequently maims the women.’ - -“Robert Bald, the government coal-viewer, stated: In surveying the -workings of an extensive colliery underground a married woman came -forward groaning under an excessive weight of coal, trembling in every -nerve, and almost unable to keep her knees from sinking under her. On -coming up she said in a plaintive and melancholy voice: ‘Oh sir, this is -sore, sore, sore work!’ - -“And a sub-commissioner said: ‘It is almost incredible that human beings -can submit to such employment—crawling on hands and knees, harnessed -like horses, over soft, slushy floors, more difficult than dragging the -same weight through our lowest sewers.’”— - -Mackenzie, in his above mentioned book, states that “there was no -machinery in these English coal-pits to drag the coal to the surface, -and women climbed long wooden stairs with baskets of coal upon their -backs. Children of six were habitually employed. Their hours of labor -were fourteen to sixteen daily. The horrors among which they lived -induced disease and early death. Law did not seem to reach to the depths -of a coal-pit, and the hapless children were often mutilated and -occasionally killed with perfect impunity by the brutalized miners among -whom they labored.” - -Other authorities state that the women were paid less than 20 cents per -day! For the same kind of work men got three times as much pay; but the -employers preferred girls and women to do the work “because of their -lower wages and greater docility!” In the iron districts of the Midlands -women earned for very hard work 4 to 5 shillings a week, (=$1.25) while -the men received 14 shillings. - -These small wages, which forced upon the laborers the most barren mode -of living, were, however, taken away again from them through the meanest -tricks, devised by the employers particularly through the so-called -Truck System. Under this abominable system the employers, instead of -paying the wages in cash, forced their employees to take checks or -orders, redeemable in all kinds of necessities and goods, but valid only -in those “truck stores” or “tommy shops” run by the employers, or in -which they had an interest. By cheating the workmen with goods of -inferior quality, by overcharging them at the same time, by pressing -them to take goods far beyond their need and wages, and by making long -intervals—often from 40 to 60 days—between the real pay days, they -forced the laborers into debt and absolute slavery. - -The situation of many thousands of those women who tried to make a -living as seamstresses was also desperate. Always put off with wages far -below the demands of a modest existence, they were real martyrs of -labor. Thomas Hood, one of the foremost English poets of the first half -of the 19th Century, gave in his famous “Song of the Shirt” a most -touching picture of such woman’s toil and misery, of woman in her wasted -life and in her hurried death. His poem reads: - - With fingers weary and worn, - With eyelids heavy and red, - A woman sat, in unwomanly rags, - Plying her needle and thread— - Stitch! stitch! stitch! - In poverty, hunger and dirt, - And still with a voice of dolorous pitch, - She sang the “Song of the Shirt!” - - “Work! work! work! - While the cock is crowing aloof! - And work—work—work, - Till the stars shine through the roof! - It’s Oh! to be a slave - Along with the barbarous Turk, - Where woman has never a soul to save, - If this is Christian work! - - “Work—work—work - Till the brain begins to swim; - Work—work—work - Till the eyes are heavy and dim! - Seam, and gusset, and band, - Band, and gusset, and seam, - Till over the button I fall asleep, - And sew them on in a dream! - - “Oh, Men, with Sisters dear! - Oh, Men, with Mothers and Wives! - It is not linen you’re wearing out, - But human creatures’ lives! - Stitch—stitch—stitch, - In poverty, hunger, and dirt, - Sewing at once, with a double thread, - A Shroud as well as a Shirt. - - “But why do I talk of Death? - That Phantom of grisly bone, - I hardly fear his terrible shape, - It seems so like my own, - Because of the fasts I keep; - Oh, God! that bread be so dear, - And flesh and blood so cheap! - - “Work—work—work! - My labor never flags; - And what are its wages? A bed of straw, - A crust of bread—and rags. - That shatter’d roof—and this naked floor— - A table—a broken chair— - And a wall so blank, my shadow I thank - For sometimes falling there! - - “Work—work—work! - From weary chime to chime, - Work—work—work— - As prisoners work for crime! - Band, and gusset, and seam, - Seam, and gusset, and band, - Till the heart is sick, and the brain benumb’d - As well as the weary hand. - - “Work—work—work, - In the dull December light, - And work—work—work, - When the weather is warm and bright— - While underneath the eaves - The brooding swallows cling, - As if to show me the sunny backs - And twit me with the spring. - - “Oh! but to breathe the breath - Of the cowslip and primrose sweet— - With the sky above my head, - And the grass beneath my feet, - For only one short hour - To feel as I used to feel, - Before I knew the woes of want - And the walk that costs a meal. - - “Oh! but for one short hour! - A respite however brief! - No blessed leisure for Love or Hope, - But only time for Grief! - A little weeping would ease my heart, - But in their briny bed - My tears must stop, for every drop - Hinders needle and thread!” - - With fingers weary and worn, - With eyelids heavy and red, - A woman sat in unwomanly rags, - Plying her needle and thread thread— - Stitch! stitch! stitch! - In poverty, hunger, and dirt, - And still with a voice of dolorous pitch, - Would that its tone could reach the Rich! - She sang the “Song of the Shirt!” - -Constantly struggling with want and poverty and seeing health menaced by -the machines, the working classes of England were filled with -bitterness, when they found that their complaints brought no relief, -while the law-makers, sitting in Parliament, favored any demands of the -employers and of the big interests. To forget for a few hours their -hopeless existence, large numbers of men and women resorted to liquor, -hereby hastening their final collapse and ruin. - -Such was the life led by English laborers during the greater part of the -Nineteenth Century. Feeble attempts to improve these deplorable -conditions were made through a series of “Factory Acts,” the immediate -cause for which was the fearful spread of epidemic diseases which -wrought dreadful havoc among the laborers, especially among the women -and children. If we glance over these factory acts, as they are sketched -in the Encyclopædia Britannica, we find that even under these acts -children below the age of nine were permitted in silk factories, and -that they were required to work twelve hours a day, exclusive of an hour -and a half for meal times. An act of 1833 provided that young persons -from thirteen to eighteen and women were restricted to 68 hours a week. -Ten years later a mining act was passed which prohibited underground -work for children under ten and for women. In 1867 the Workshop -Regulation Act fixed the working day for children from 6 a. m. to 8 p. -m. = 14 hours, and for young persons and women from 5 a. m. to 9 p. m. = -16 hours! After having made such sad disclosures, the Encyclopædia -Britannica dared to say: “By these various enactments the state has -emphatically taken under its protection the whole class of children and -young persons employed in manufacturing industries. It has done this in -the name of the moral and physical health of the community.” - - * * * * * - -The despicable methods employed by the British mine and factory owners -in their dealings with the working classes spread to the Continent as -well as to America. In France, Germany and Austria they led to those -desperate struggles between capital and labor, out of which was born -that most remarkable movement of the 19th Century called “Socialism.” - -In the United States soon enough attempts were made to imitate the -detestable methods of the British mine and factory owners. But as the -character of the population was quite different, the abuse of the -working men and women never became so appalling as in Great Britain. - -The first industry to be established in factories was the weaving of -cotton in the New England States, where a number of rapid streams, among -them the Merrimac, the Connecticut and the Housatonic, furnished -excellent water-power. And as during the pioneer and colonial times the -housewives and daughters had spun and woven all the cloth and linen for -family use, there was an ample number of expert workers at hand. After -the first weaving machines were brought over from Europe, in 1814, -Dover, Lowell, Waltham, Great Falls and Newmarket became the principal -centers of the cotton industry. - -Here the daughters of the farmers and settlers did the work that -formerly their mothers had done at home. Only they did it faster, by -tending the machines all day long. At first the girls did not know that -the employers might try to make the people in the factories work longer -hours without any rest and adequate pay. Soon enough they found this -out. But as the girls had inherited the independent spirit of their -fathers and grandfathers, trouble began to brew. In December, 1828, four -hundred girls in Dover, New Hampshire, formed a procession and marched -out of the factory, in order to show their indignation at the growing -oppression by their employers. They clad their complaints in verses, one -of which ran: - - “Who among the Dover girls could ever bear - The shocking fate of slaves to share!” - -Unorganized as they were at that time, they did not succeed in gaining -all they desired. But five years later they walked out again, eight -hundred strong, adopting resolutions stating that they had not been -treated as “daughters of freemen” by their employers and the unfriendly -newspapers. At the same time in Lowell, Mass., at a signal given by a -Dover girl, two thousand girls, who had formed a “=Factory Girls’ -Association=,” joined in a sympathy strike, marched around town and -issued the following proclamation: - -[Illustration: - - SPINNERS IN THE COLONIAL TIMES. - - After a painting by Carl Marr, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, - New York. -] - - -“Union Is Power.” - -“Our present object is to have union and exertion, and we remain in -possession of our own unquestionable rights. We circulate this paper, -wishing to obtain the names of all who imbibe the spirit of our -patriotic ancestors, who preferred privation to bondage and parted with -all that renders life desirable—and even life itself—to produce -independence for their children. The oppressing hand of avarice would -enslave us, and to gain their object they very gravely tell us of the -pressure of the times; this we are already sensible of and deplore it. -If any are in want of assistance, the ladies will be compassionate and -assist them, but we prefer to have the disposing of our charities in our -own hands, and, as we are free, we would remain in possession of what -kind Providence has bestowed upon us, and remain daughters of freemen -still. - -“All who patronize this effort we wish to have discontinue their labor -until terms of reconciliation are made. - -“Resolved. That we will not go back into the mills to work unless our -wages are continued to us as they have been. - -“Resolved, That none of us will go back unless they receive us all as -one. - -“Resolved, That if any have not money enough to carry them home they -shall be supplied. - - “Let oppression shrug her shoulders, - And a haughty tyrant frown, - And little upstart Ignorance - In mockery look down. - Yet I value not the feeble threats, - Of Tories in disguise, - While the flag of independence, - O’er our noble nation flies.” - - -In 1843 the girls in the cotton mills of Pittsburg, Pa., whose working -hours had been from five o’clock in the morning till a quarter of seven -in the evening, rebelled also, when their employers attempted to -increase the time one hour each day without extra pay. Two years later -they co-operated with the factory girls of New England, concurring in -the proposal to “declare their independence of the oppressive -manufacturing power” unless the work day was limited to ten hours. - -The policy of these fighters for better conditions is outlined in the -constitution of the “=Lowell Female Labor Reform Association=,” which -had been organized in 1845. Article IX says: - -“The members of this association disapprove of all hostile measures, -strikes and turn-outs until all pacific measures prove abortive, and -then that it is the imperious duty of everyone to assert and maintain -that independence which our brave ancestors bequeathed to us and sealed -with their blood.” - -The spirit of these working women is likewise shown in the preamble -adopted at the annual meeting of the association in January, 1846. It -reads: - -“It now only remains for us to throw off the shackles which are binding -us in ignorance and servitude and which prevent us from rising to that -scale of being for which God designed us. With the present system of -labor it is impossible. There must be reasonable hours for manual labor -and a just portion of time allowed for the cultivation of the mental and -moral faculties, and no other way can the great work be accomplished. It -is evident that with the present system of labor the minds of the mass -must remain uncultivated, their morals unimproved. Shall we, operatives -of America, the land where democracy claims to be the principle by which -we live and by which we are governed, see the evil daily increasing -which separates more widely and more effectually the favored few and the -unfortunate many without one exertion to stay the progress? God forbid! -Let the daughters of New England kindle the spark of Philanthropy in -every heart till its brightness shall fill the whole earth.” - -Not satisfied with securing thousands of signatures of factory -operatives, who petitioned the legislature for a ten-hour day, prominent -members of the union went before the Massachusetts legislative committee -early in 1845 and testified as to the conditions in textile mills. This -was the first American governmental investigation of labor conditions, -and it was due almost solely to the petitions of the working women. -About the same time the union appointed a committee to investigate and -expose false statements published in newspapers concerning the factory -operatives. Nor was this all. In their work of publicity they did not -hesitate to call public men to account for assailing or ignoring their -movement. - -The chairman of the legislative committee, before whom the working girls -had testified, was the representative from the Lowell district, and -should, therefore, have shown special interest in the complaints of the -girls. Instead, he had treated them in a high-handed manner, withholding -at the same time from the Legislature some of the most important facts -presented by the Lowell girls. The latter expressed their just -indignation in the following resolution, which was circulated before the -elections of that year: - -“Resolved, That the Female Labor Reform Labor Association deeply deplore -the lack of independence, honesty and humanity in the committee to whom -were referred sundry petitions relative to the hours of labor, -especially in the chairman of that committee; and as he is merely a -corporation machine, or tool, we will use our best endeavors and -influence to keep him in the “City of Spindles,” where he belongs, and -not trouble Boston folks with him.” - -That the “endeavors” of the girls met with full success is evident from -a second resolution published after election day: - -“Resolved, That the members of this association tender their grateful -acknowledgments to the voters of Lowell for consigning William Schouler -to the obscurity he so justly deserves for treating so ungentlemanly the -defense made by the delegates of this association before the special -committee of the legislature, to whom was referred petitions for the -reduction of the hours of labor, of which he was chairman.” - -The result of all this agitation against long hours of work was that in -1847, 1848, and 1851 the first ten-hour laws were passed in New -Hampshire, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. - -The success, won by the textile workers, inspired women workers in the -tailoring and sewing trade, in the manufacture of shoes, cigars, and -other necessities to similar efforts. In the tailoring and sewing trade -wages were extremely low, as sweat-shop conditions existed from the -beginning, and the trade was overcrowded. - -In 1845 New York City alone had over 10,000 sewing women, the majority -of whom worked from twelve to sixteen hours a day to earn only from two -to three dollars a week! - -As similar conditions prevailed in other occupations, the number of -poorly paid women wage-earners in New York City in 1865 was between -50,000 to 70,000, of whom 20,000 were in a constant fight with -starvation, and of whom 7,000 lived in cellars. Their situation grew -from bad to worse, as at the same time that they were falling into a -state of physical and mental deterioration, the improvements in many -machines made greater and greater demands on the capability of those who -were operating them. - -Thus the situation became such as was sketched by W. I. Thomas in an -article written some fifteen years ago for the “American Magazine,” in -which he said: - -“The machine is a wonderful expression of man’s ingenuity, of his effort -to create an artificial workman, to whom no wages have to be paid, but -it falls just short of human intelligence. It has no discriminative -judgment, no control of the work as a whole. It can only finish the work -handed out to it, but it does this with superhuman energy. The -manufacturer has, then, to purchase enough intelligence to supplement -the machine, and he secures as low a grade of this as the nature of the -machine will permit. The child, the woman and the immigrant are -frequently adequate to furnish that oversight and judgment necessary to -supplement the activity of the machine, and the more ignorant and -necessitous the human being the more the profit to the industry. But now -comes the ironical and pitiful part. The machine which was invented to -save human energy, and which is so great a boon when the individual -controls it, is a terrible thing when it controls the individual. -Power-driven, it has almost no limit to its speed, and no limit whatever -to its endurance, and it has no nerves. When, therefore, under the -pressure of business competition the machine is speeded up and the girl -operating it is speeded up to its pace, =we have finally a situation in -which the machine destroys the worker=.” - -The rapidly increasing misery among such exhausted women workers aroused -public attention and led to the formation of a number of woman’s -organizations with the purpose to investigate abuses among such women -workers, to teach them the value of trade unions, to agitate equal pay -for equal work, to shorten the number of working hours, and to abolish -child labor and prison work. The first national women’s trade union, -formed in the United States, was that of the “=Daughters of St. -Crispin=.” It held its first convention on July 28, 1869, at Lynn, -Massachusetts. The delegates represented not only the local lodges of -that state, but also lodges of Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, -and California. - -With the organization of the “=Knights of Labor=” in 1869, and the -“=American Federation of Labor=” the position of woman in the American -labor movement became more firmly established, as both federations made -it one of their principal objects “to secure for both sexes equal pay -for equal work.” They also appointed special committees to investigate -the conditions of working women, and to organize them for concerted -action. - -Other potent factors arising in this line were the “=National Consumers’ -League=” and the “=Women’s Trade Union League=.” The founding of the -first federation was due to efforts to better the conditions of women in -department stores. In 1890 a group of saleswomen of New York City -pointed to the fact that girls in fashionable department stores were -receiving wages too low to allow them a decent living. They also -complained that these girls were forced to stand from ten to fourteen -hours a day, and that sanitary conditions in the cloak and lunch rooms -were such as to endanger health and life. While the plan of these -saleswomen, to unite all women clerks of the city into a labor union, -failed, their complaints, however, attracted the attention of a number -of influential ladies interested in philanthropic efforts. They -investigated the charges against the department stores, and what they -discovered made them resolve that conditions demanded radical changes. -In May, 1890, they called a mass meeting of prominent women and proposed -a constructive plan for raising the standard in shop conditions, not by -=blacklisting= any firm guilty of bad conduct, but by =white-listing= -those firms which treated their employees humanely. “We can make and -publish,” so the presiding lady said, “a list of all the shops where -employees receive fair treatment, and we can agree to patronize only -those shops. By acting openly, and publishing our White List we shall be -able to create an immense public opinion in favor of just employers.” In -other words, it was by the spirit of praise rather than condemnation -that these ladies sought to stimulate stores to raise their standards. - -Adopting the name “=Consumers’ League of New York=,” the society -organized on January 1, 1891, and published its first White List. It was -a disappointingly small one, as it contained the names of only eight -firms. Still more disappointing was the indifference of the many hundred -other firms toward this reform movement. But soon enough these firms -found that the League had also introduced into the New York Assembly a -bill which became known as the “Mercantile Employers Bill.” It aimed to -regulate the employment of women and children in all mercantile -establishments, and to place all retail stores, from the smallest to the -largest, under the inspection of the State Factory Department. - -Of course the merchants took prompt steps to defeat this obnoxious bill, -and they were most complacent when their representatives in the Assembly -succeeded in strangling it. But the bill appeared again and again, -finally resulting in the appointment of a State Commission for the -investigation of the conditions. As Reta Childe Dorr in her book “What -Eight Million Women Want” graphically relates, “The findings of this -Commission were sensational enough. Merchants reluctantly testified to -employing grown women at a salary of =thirty-three cents a day=. They -confessed to employing little girls of eleven and twelve years, in -defiance of the child-labor law. They declared that pasteboard and -wooden stock boxes were good enough seats for saleswomen; that they -should not expect to sit down in business hours, anyhow. They defended, -on what they called economic grounds, their long hours and uncompensated -overtime. They defended their system of fines, which sometimes took away -from a girl almost the entire amount of her weekly salary. They -threatened, if a ten-hour law for women under twenty-one years old were -passed, to employ older women. Thus thousands of young and helpless -girls would be thrown out of employment, and forced to appeal to -charity.” - -The Senate heard the report of the Commission, and in spite of the -merchants’ protests, the women’s bill was passed without a dissenting -vote. Its most important provision was the ten-hour limit which it -placed on the work of women under twenty-one. The bill also provided -seats for saleswomen, and specified the number of seats, one to every -three clerks. It forbade the employment of children, except those -holding working-certificates from the authorities. - -But soon it was found that the smart representatives of the merchants -had succeeded in attaching to the bill a so-called “joker,” by which the -inspection of the stores was entrusted to the local boards of health. As -the officials of these boards, supposedly experts, proved, in fact, -ignorant of industrial conditions and their relation to health and -sanitation, the true objects of the bill could not be enforced. So the -Consumers’ League was compelled to wage another tedious war, until it -finally succeeded in convincing the Legislature that the inspection of -all department and retail stores should be turned over to the State -Factory Department. When this was done, there were reported in the first -three months of the enforcement of the Mercantile Law over 1200 -violations in Greater New York. At the same time 923 under-age children -were taken out of their positions as cash girls, stock girls, and -wrappers, and sent back to school. - -It was natural that the good results and the purely benevolent motives -of the Consumers’ League attracted wide attention. Similar Associations -were formed in many other cities and states. The movement spread so -rapidly, that in 1899 it was possible to organize “=The National -Consumers’ League=,” with branches in twenty-two states. - -Encouraged by such success, the league now began to study the working -conditions of girls employed in restaurants. It was found that in many -cases these conditions were even worse than in the department stores. -Girls of twenty years were found working as cooks from 6:30 in the -morning to 11:30 at night, with no time off on Sundays or holidays! This -meant 119 hours a week, more than twice the time the law permits for -factory employees. Other girls, employed as waitresses, were serving -every day from 7:30 a. m. to 10:30 p. m., or 105 hours each week! In -going back and forth, they walked several miles a day, carrying heavy -trays at the same time. In rush hours they worked at a constant nervous -tension, for speed is one of their requirements. And they must not only -remember a dizzying list of orders, but must fill them quickly and keep -their temper under the exactions of the most rasping customer. - -Based on such findings, the Consumers’ League of New York caused the -framing of a bill by which the hours of women in restaurants were -limited to 54 hours weekly, which gave the girls one day of rest in -seven, and prohibited their working between 10 p. m. and 6 a. m. In -October, 1917, this bill became a law. In a number of other states -minimum wage laws have also been secured. - -The Consumers’ League of Philadelphia took pains to investigate -conditions in the silk mills of Pennsylvania. It was found that besides -overwork and underpay there were often other evils, due to an erring as -well as inhuman policy on the part of the employers. Like the owners of -the department stores many of these men were possessed by the idea that -the right to sit down would encourage slow work and laziness. -Accordingly the girls in these mills were forced to stand from early -morning till late at night, day after day, and month after month. - -The secretary of the Consumers’ League, who, under an assumed name, -worked for some time in various mills, in order to study conditions, -wrote: - -“The harmful effect of continuous standing, upon young and growing -girls, is too well established a fact to require any elaboration. In -addition to the permanent ill effects, much immediate and unnecessary -suffering, especially in hot weather, is inflicted by the prohibition of -sitting. I could always detect the existence of this rule by a glance at -the stocking-feet of the workers, and at the rows of discarded shoes -beneath the frames. For after a few hours the strain upon the swollen -feet becomes intolerable, and one girl after another discards her -shoes.”— - -Another harsh and very common practice of employers is to cover the -lower sashes of the windows with paint, and to fasten them so that they -cannot be raised in hot weather. This is done “so that the girls don’t -waste time looking out.” - -The cruelty of these unnecessary rules is often aggravated by a most -amazing lack of the common decencies and necessities of cleanliness. - -One of the most difficult tasks of the Consumers’ League was to overcome -the absolute unwillingness of storekeepers to compensate their -saleswomen for overtime. If it would be possible to compute the amount -of such unpaid labor performed after the regular hours in many stores as -well as in the bookkeeping and auditing departments, especially during -the Christmas season, the sum would be startling indeed. A circular -issued by the Women’s Trade Union League of Chicago some years ago -stated that the 3000 clerks in only one department store of that city -had been required to work during the holiday season overtime to the -total amount of 96,000 hours, without receiving any compensation. At the -rate of only ten cents an hour these clerks suffered a loss of $9,600, -at the rate of 25 cents an hour a loss of $24,000. - - * * * * * - -The first “=Women’s Trade Union League=” was organized in 1875 by =Mrs. -Emma Paterson=, the wife of an English trade unionist. While travelling -in America, she had observed that women workers of various trades had -formed unions, among which the “Umbrella Makers’ Union,” the “Women’s -Typographical Union” and the “Women’s Protective Union” were the most -prominent. Convinced that the utility of such combinations could be -still more increased, Mrs. Paterson, after her return to England, -organized a federation of such women’s unions, the “=British Women’s -Trade Union League=,” which later on became the model for a similar -organization in America. It was founded on November 14th, 1903, for the -one main purpose to organize all women workers into trade unions, in -order to protect them from exploitation, to help them raise their wages, -shorten their hours, and improve sanitary conditions of the work shops. -Becoming affiliated with the “American Federation of Labor,” the league -gained a splendid victory during the years 1909 to 1911, when a series -of huge strikes in the sewing trades spread over the East and the Middle -West. Also an agreement was arrived at, that the principle of preference -to unionists, first enforced in Australia, should be acknowledged. Under -this plan manufacturers, when hiring help, must give to union workers of -the necessary qualifications and degree of skill precedence over -non-union workers. - -At all times ready to express the sentiments and voice the aspirations -of those who toil, the “Women s Trade Union League” represents to-day -over 100,000 working women. While it has had a wonderful effect in -improving standards of wages, hours and sanitary conditions in what was -originally an underpaid and unhealthy industry, it also has become the -pioneer in another direction, that of education in the labor movement. -At the initiative of a group of girls an educational movement was -started which has extended into organizations including some half a -million workers, men as well as women. In public schools of New York, -Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other cities educators -of national reputation are co-operating with teachers and delegates from -labor unions in giving lecture courses for adults on such subjects as -social interpretation of literature, evolution of the labor movement, -problems of reconstruction, social problems, trade unionism and -co-operation, etc. At the same time a movement for co-operative housing -has been developing. “The New York Ladies’ Waist and Dressmaker’s Union” -for instance has bought in 1919 at a cost of several hundred thousand -dollars a magnificent summer home for the exclusive use of its members. -This “Unity House” at Forest Park, Pennsylvania, has accommodations for -500 guests. Situated at a beautiful lake, surrounded by shady forests -and green lawns, provided with tennis courts, a library and reading -rooms, it is an ideal recreation ground of first order. The money for -this estate was brought up by the 30,000 members of the union, each -contributing one day’s wages. - -In New York City also a co-operative “Unity House” has been established -with quarters for fifty girls. A great extension of this movement in the -city is planned. The Philadelphia group of the same union is following -these examples and has acquired a fine estate worth $40,000. - -At present the various woman’s organizations of the United States as -well as of other countries aim at the following issues: - - =1.= =To limit the working day for women to eight hours.= - - =2.= =To demand for women equal pay with men for equal work.= - - =3.= =To establish for all the various occupations minimum wage - scales, sufficient to grant all women workers an adequate - living.= - - =4.= =To secure safe and sanitary working conditions, and clinics - for the treatment of diseases resulting from certain - industrial occupations.= - - =5.= =To secure industrial insurance laws.= - - =6.= =To secure for all women full citizenship with the right to - vote in all municipal and national elections.= - -As woman’s future position will depend on the realization of these -demands, their discussion is of utmost importance. - - - THE MOVEMENT FOR AN EIGHT-HOUR DAY. - -As has been shown in a former chapter, innumerable valuable lives of -workmen, women and, in former years, children have been sacrificed -through the unreasonable exploitation by employers, who in their greed -for profits had lost all consideration for the welfare of their -fellow-men. Hundreds of thousands of laborers have been slowly worked to -death as no sufficient amount of time for recuperation was granted them. - -The only possible excuse for such incredible waste of human lives is -that neither the employers nor the law-makers of those bygone days -realized that the physical and mental abilities of the large laboring -classes belong to the resources of a nation just as truly as do the -water-power, the soil, the mineral deposits, the forests, and other -natural means. Moreover, nobody was aware of the fact that it is one of -the supreme duties of a wise government to guard these resources, so -fundamentally necessary to the prosperity of a nation, from unscrupulous -exploitation and possible destruction. - -The danger of the reckless exploitation of laborers, especially of women -workers, has increased considerably with the improvement of many -machines, the greater speed and output of which demand far greater -attention and strain than before on the part of the men or women -operating them. - -This is what Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War, said in 1917 at the -annual meeting of the National Consumers’ League: - -“Machinery has given us one great delusion. People have imagined that -when a machine was operated by a steam engine or by an electric motor, -the steam engine or the electric motor actually did all the work, and -the people who were attending it while it operated were more or less -negligible. As a consequence, we indulged in the very unfortunate and -often fatal belief that unlimited hours of labor were possible because -it was the machines which were doing the work. We overlooked the fact, -which we have lately begun to appreciate, that the person who tends the -power-driven machine is far more susceptible to exhaustion, is far more -open to fatigue and to the poisons that affect the system and that come -from over-exertion than ever before.” - -Mrs. Florence Kelley, the able General Secretary of the National -Consumers’ League, who studied woman’s occupation in the sewing trade, -states that of late years the speed of the sewing machines has been -increased so that girls using these improved machines are now -responsible for twenty times as many stitches as twenty years ago, and -that many girls and women, not capable of the sustained speed involved -in this improvement, are no longer eligible for this occupation. Those -who continue in the trade are required to feed twice as many garments to -the machine as were required five years ago. The strain upon their eyes -is, however, far more than twice what it was before the improvement. In -the case of machines carrying multiple needles this is obvious; but it -is true of the single needle machines as well. - -When a girl cannot keep the pace she is thrown out. A comment frequently -made by the girls about such an unfortunate comrade is: “She got too -slow. She couldn’t keep up with her machine any longer.” It amounts to -this, that the girl can earn a living wage, if she is unusually gifted, -=until she is worn out=. - -The nerve strain caused by innumerable rapid-working machines of the -present day has become obvious in many cases. As the compressed -air-hammer has shattered the nerves of many robust men, so the latest -machines used in the sewing and other trades have impaired the health of -many women. “Such nerve strain,” says Rheta Childe Dorr, “cannot be -regulated. It is a Gordian knot that cannot be untied. The only thing to -do is to cut it. The only solution of it is a shortened work-day. This -is true for men as well as for women, but, in all probability, not to -the same degree. Nerve strain affects men, certainly, and it demands, -even in their case, a progressively shortened work-day as an alternative -to a progressively shortened work-life. But with women the case becomes -infinitely more urgent, infinitely more tragic, in exact proportion as -woman’s nervous system is more unstable than man’s and more easily -shaken from its equilibrium.” - -The advantages of an eight-hour day with rest at night for women and -children have been summed up as follows: - -1.—Where the working day is short, the workers are less predisposed to -diseases arising from fatigue. They are correspondingly less in danger -of being out of work, for sickness is in turn one of the great causes of -unemployment. - -2.—Accidents have diminished conspicuously wherever working hours have -been reduced. - -3.—The workers have better opportunity for continuing their education -out of working hours. Where they do this intelligently they become more -valuable and are correspondingly less likely to become victims of -unemployment. - -4.—A short working day established by law tends automatically to -regularize work. The interest of the employer is to have all hands -continuously active, and no one sitting idly waiting for needles, or -thread, or materials, or for machines to be repaired. Every effort is -bent towards having work ready for every hour of every working day in -the year. In unregulated industry, on the contrary, there are cruel -alternations of idleness and overwork. - -5.—For married women wage-earners it is especially necessary to have the -working day short and work regular. For when they leave their workplace -it is to cook, sew, and clean at home, sometimes even to care for the -sick.— - -In the movement for an eight-hour day for the women workers its -advocates have already succeeded in Australia, Great Britain, Germany, -Denmark, Porto Rico, and Mexico. The eight-hour day has also been -secured for all employees of the U. S. Government and for the women and -workmen of a large number of the states. - - - EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK. - -That women are entitled to equal pay with men for equal work, was -recognized by the ancient Babylonians five or six thousand years ago. -The justice of this demand is so self-evident, that it would hardly seem -to need any discussion. Notwithstanding all labor organizations have -been compelled to place it on their program, as many factory owners -employed the cheaper woman- and child-labor only in order to underbid -and reduce the wages of the male laborers. As female laborers have been -much more poorly organized than men, they have been less capable of -maintaining their claims. - -The first equal opportunity and equal pay laws were passed in the State -of Washington. In 1890 a section was added to her Labor Laws reading as -follows: “Hereafter in this state every avenue of employment shall be -open to women; and any business, vocation, profession, and calling -followed and pursued by men may be followed and pursued by women, and no -person shall be disqualified from engaging in or pursuing any business, -vocation, profession, calling or employment on account of sex.” - -Section 5 of Industrial Welfare Commission of the State of Washington, -Order of September 10, 1918, is the first general equal pay law: “That -women doing equal work with men in any occupation, trade, or industry in -this state shall receive the same compensation therefor as men during -work of the same character and of like quantity and quality, the -determination of what constitutes equal work to rest with the Industrial -Welfare Commission.” - - - THE MEANING OF THE MINIMUM WAGE. - -The interests of every community demand that all workers, male as well -as female, shall receive a fair living wage, to save them from -pernicious effects upon their health and morals. The dangers to the -health of women have been found to be twofold: lack of adequate -nourishment and lack of medical care in sickness. Careful investigations -as well as statistics have proven that with insufficient wages food is -necessarily cut down below the requirements of subsistence, and health -inevitably suffers. In order to meet unavoidable expenses for lodging -and clothing, workingwomen reduce their diet to the lowest possible -point. - -On the moral side, authorities agree in the opinion that, while -underpayment and the consequent struggle to live may not be the primary -cause for entering upon an immoral life, it is inevitably a highly -important factor. When wages are too low to supply nourishment and other -human needs, temptation is more readily yielded to. - -The discovery that inadequate wages menace the morals of women and -through them the interests and the good name of the community in which -they work, has had much to do with the adoption of minimum-wage laws in -America as well as in other parts of the world. - -In the United States the first minimum-wage orders were those of the -Oregon Industrial Commission, which fixed $8.64 as the legal weekly -minimum for manufacturing establishments, and $9.25 for mercantile -establishments, in the City of Portland. These rates were based upon the -testimony of workers and employers gathered by the Oregon Consumers’ -League. The testimony had shown that the prevailing wage for beginners -in department stores was $3.00 a week; that nearly half of these girls -and women employed were receiving less than $9.00, and that female -clerks never received above $10.00 a week, no matter how long the term -of their service. - -After learning from the employers what wages were actually paid, the -Oregon investigators sought to determine the amount necessary to protect -the health and morals of the women workers through an examination of -market prices and a careful study of the actual expenditures of the -workers. One hundred and sixteen department-store workers furnished the -information for the following table of averages: - - Living at Home Adrift - Rent $315.51 $118.00 - Board 196.25 - Carfare 31.20 23.42 - Clothing 161.36 139.63 - Laundry 24.28 16.27 - Doctor and Dentist 29.23 23.82 - Lodge and Church 12.19 9.72 - Recreation 21.48 36.62 - Books, etc. 10.11 6.69 - ——————— ——————— - Total Expenses $605.36 $570.42 - - The total wages received in the average: - Total Wages $459.50 $480.57 - ——————— ——————— - Deficit $145.86 $89.85 - -These figures show that a majority of these women actually received less -than it cost them to live. - -Investigations carried on in order to find how these women met the -difference, disclosed that many of them, whether living at home or -boarding, did extra chores in the morning before going to work and after -work-hours in the evening. Others went into debt. And still others -became “charity girls”—that is, they kept company with “gentlemen -friends,” who came up for the balance, sometimes under promise of -marriage when these “friends” should feel able to set up a household. -That such promises are not always kept and that the girls quite often -sink to lower levels, are facts well known. - -The first law embodying the principle of the minimum wage was enacted in -New Zealand 25 years ago. From there it spread gradually to the other -Australian States. In 1896 Victoria, the largest industrial State of -Australia, passed the first act providing for special boards to fix -minimum wages in different trades. Beginning with a few sweat-shop -industries, the movement has grown by successive special acts, until, in -1916, there were about 150 trades or occupations in which minimum wages -were set by special wage boards. - -The same general plan was followed by Great Britain in the trade boards -act of 1909. This bill, introduced in Parliament by delegates of the -English Anti-sweating League and of the National Consumers’ League in -January, 1909, was passed and signed in time to take effect at New -Years, 1910. - -In the United States, up to the end of 1918, minimum-wage laws had been -enacted in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, -Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin -and in the District of Columbia, guaranteeing a living wage to women -workers, especially in unorganized trades. - - - EFFORTS TO SECURE SAFE AND SANITARY WORKING CONDITIONS AND CLINICS FOR - THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES RESULTING FROM INDUSTRIAL OCCUPATIONS. - -When in the industries human power began to be supplanted by -steam-driven machines, when competition grew fierce and fiercer, it was -found that with the ever increasing speed of the whirling wheels the -dangers that threatened the workmen increased enormously. The use of -almost every machine has brought with it some peculiar peril, this one -crushing a finger or cutting a limb of the person in charge; that one -tearing out an arm or killing the operator if for a fraction of a second -his thoughts strayed from his work, or if he became drowsy after long -hours of work. - -It was also found that many persons, engaged in certain occupations, -became afflicted by peculiar diseases, unknown before and strictly -confined to the persons doing that special work. - -According to conservative estimates, of the 38,000,000 wage earners of -the United States, in every year 30,000 to 33,000 are killed by -industrial accidents. In addition, there are approximately 2,000,000 -non-fatal accidents. - -Imagine a plain strewn with 35,000 corpses and two million men and women -crying out under the pain of severe lacerations, burns, cuts, bruises, -dislocations and fractures! Imagine the horrible sight of so many human -beings with limbs torn into shreds, with faces having empty eye-holes, -with breasts heaving from the effect of poisonous gases! If such numbers -of men and women were killed and wounded in one day at one place, the -whole world would be terrified, and register the day as the most -dreadful in history. But as these losses extend over a whole year and a -large territory, our nation takes only slight notice of them, hardly -thinking of the fact, that these immense losses and sufferings are -terrible realities, which affect the economic wealth of our nation as a -whole in a very serious way. - -These conditions are the more deplorable as the majority of such -accidents could be avoided by intelligent and rational methods, as is -done in other civilized countries, where the possibilities for -successful prevention of accidents have been clearly demonstrated. - -Granting that many of such industrial accidents are the result of -ignorance, reckless indifference or carelessness, the fact remains that -much that could be done in our country for the protection of working -people is neglected. - -When in Europe with the increase of industries the number of accidents -and “professional diseases” swelled in proportion, some philanthropists -and economists, interested in the welfare of their fellow-citizens and -convinced that every life saved is a national asset, became alarmed and -searched for means to prevent such calamities. When in 1855 the first -World’s Exposition was held at Paris, it had a special department in -which were exhibited inventions for the safety of working people. Later -on a permanent “Musée social” was established. - -Since then similar institutions have been opened in Berlin, Munich, -Vienna, Amsterdam, Brussels, Zurich, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Budapest, -Milan, Moscow, and several other places. These museums contain the -latest and most select inventions for the restriction of accidents and -in the interest of industrial hygiene. And as all exhibits are arranged -in separate groups according to the various professions, every -manufacturer and every working man and woman can inform himself without -loss of time about all new inventions relating to his special trade. - -Perhaps the most comprehensive and most scientific of these museums is -that of Charlottenburg, a suburb of Berlin. Its wonderfully interesting -character is evident from the moment one enters the magnificent -building, which occupies a whole city block. There are long rows of -figures equipped with the various types of masks and helmets used by -miners, divers, fire-fighters, and laborers, working in rooms filled -with poisonous gases, dust, or irrespirable smoke. There are all the -implements and attachments for the protection of persons working on -men-killing machines. - -There are casts in plaster and reproductions in wax illustrating all the -dreadful skin diseases and deformities of the limbs, by which the -laborers engaged in certain industries become afflicted. Other exhibits -illustrate what measures should be taken for the improvement of the -conditions of the working classes; how to furnish the best nourishment -at the lowest cost; how to settle laborers in pleasant colonies, and how -to treat those, who have become sick or afflicted with industrial -diseases. - -Among the most important exhibits are the statistics of three -institutions provided for all persons employed in workshops and -factories. - -Germany was first among the nations to recognize the need of reforms in -the social conditions of the working classes. Before 1870 wages had been -low, and many of the evils that developed in other industrial countries -had spread to Germany. Believing that the working classes have a right -to be considered by the State the Government in 1881 initiated the era -of “State social politics,” which brought about an enormous change in -the condition of the working classes. Besides many reforms in regard to -the length of the working hours and to women’s and children’s labor, -this State socialism provided for three important institutions: first, a -compulsory insurance against sickness; second, a compulsory insurance -against accidents; third, a compulsory insurance against invalidity and -old age. - -To the funds of the first class all laborers earning less than 2000 -marks a year must pay two-thirds, and the employer one-third of the -weekly premiums. In case of sickness, the insured person receives half -the amount for twenty-six weeks. Doctors, hospitals and medicines are -free. In 1913 14,555,609 laborers, men and women, were protected in this -way. Many poor mothers were supported for several weeks before and after -confinement. To prevent sickness, especially tuberculosis, the -institution supported numbers of sanitariums and recreation homes, where -thousands of people, who would otherwise have perished, regained their -health. - -The insurance fees against accidents had to be paid entirely by the -employer. In case of an accident, it was not the employer in whose -factory it had happened who was held responsible, but the whole group of -employers in the same branch of industry. Every group was compelled to -establish an insurance company. In 1913 there were 25,800,000 men and -women thus protected. An injured laborer received, during the time of -his disability, two-thirds of his wages, also free medical treatment. In -case of his death the family received at once fifteen per cent. of his -annual wages and an annual support of sixty per cent. As the employers -naturally wish to keep the amount of expenses as low as possible, this -kind of compulsory insurance greatly stimulated the invention and -institution of measures by which accidents may be prevented. - -The premiums for the insurance against invalidity and old age were paid -half by the employees and half by the employer. Support was given to -invalids without regard to age, and to persons above seventy years. To -every lawful pension the Government contributed 50 marks. In 1914 -16,551,500 people were protected by this insurance. In the one year of -1913, the amount distributed among needy people by these three branches -of insurance was 775,000,000 marks. The miners of Germany were protected -by similar institutions. The splendid results of such compulsory -insurance induced the Government to prepare a special insurance for -widows and orphans. It may be mentioned that the management of these -insurance companies was entirely in the hands of the working classes and -the employers. - -All in all, the “Permanent Expositions for the Welfare of the Working -Classes,” as they exist in Berlin and in other European capitals, -demonstrate what intelligent nations can do for the protection and the -welfare of their laborers. How many millions of useful lives have been -saved by the inventions brought here to the knowledge of the public, and -what vast amounts of suffering, sorrow and tears have been averted, we -can only guess. - -In view of these facts it must be stated that our United States, which -of all countries is the greatest in industry and suffers most heavily -through industrial accidents and diseases, is among the most backward in -regard to social legislation as well as in the effort to interest -employers and employees in these welfare institutions which are of such -vital value for both parties. - -Yes, there was in 1910 a “Museum of Safety” established in New York, but -so far it has remained the only one in the entire western hemisphere. -And, as it is housed in the lower floors of an insignificant building in -24th Street, it has failed to attract the attention and the support of -the masses. - -In my opinion, every state should have a permanent museum which brings -to public knowledge all inventions relating to the special industries -and trades followed by its population. The agricultural states may -confine themselves to exhibits by which accidents connected with the -pursuit of agriculture can be prevented. The mining states may give -preference to everything that increases safety in the mines. The states -bordering our oceans and great lakes should collect all devices that -make navigation safer; our industrial states must direct their efforts -to collect such inventions as may restrict accidents in workshops and -factories. If this should be done, and if our governments, legislators -and factory inspectors would demand the installation of such inventions, -the terrific number of victims that perish every year upon our -industrial battlefields would most assuredly be greatly diminished. It -is to these aims that our statesmen as well as our male and female -workers should direct their utmost endeavors. - - - WOMEN AS MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. - -Perhaps in no other field of human activity has the disinclination of -Christian men to make any concessions to women been so strong as in all -matters regarding the church. While women were permitted to sit on -thrones and rule vast empires, theological prejudice would not allow -them to officiate at the altar or to occupy the pulpit. This vehement -opposition was due to mediæval traditions and customs. The saying of the -Apostle Paul: “I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority -over the man, but to be in silence,” had been an inviolable law to all -Catholic and Protestant dignitaries of the church. And so during the -whole Middle Ages the idea was prevalent that a masculine priesthood -alone was acceptable to God. - -The first attempt to overthrow these views was made in 1634 by =Anne -Hutchinson=, who came from Lincolnshire to Boston. Joining a church -there she found that the male members used to meet every week to discuss -the sermon they had heard the preceding Sunday. Believing that the power -of the Holy Ghost dwells in every believer, and that the inward -revelations of the spirit, the conscious judgment of the mind, are a -paramount authority. Mrs. Hutchinson established similar meetings for -the women. Soon she had large audiences, in which she set forth -sentiments of her own. But disputes arose among her followers and their -opponents, which grew so hot, that the continued existence of the two -opposing parties was considered inconsistent with public peace. A -convention of ministers, the first synod in America, was called in 1637, -which condemned the opinions of Mrs. Hutchinson, and caused her to be -summoned before the General Court. After a trial of two days, she was -convicted of censuring the ministers and advancing errors, and sentenced -to banishment from Massachusetts. She found refuge in Rhode Island, but -moved later on to the Dutch settlements, where she as well as her -children were killed by Indians. - -In 1774 another English woman, =Anne Lee=, immigrated to New York. -Professing to have received a special persuasion, she organized at -Watervliet, N. Y., the first community of Shakers, to which she -promulgated a doctrine of celibacy. Their previous training had led -members of this sect to expect that the second coming of Christ would be -in the form of a woman; as Eve was the mother of all living, so in their -new leader the Shakers recognized “the first mother or spiritual parent -in the line of the female.” These Shakers gave their women an equal -share with men in the service and government of their society. - -With the history of the “Salvation Army” likewise the names of several -women are closely connected. This religious body was organized in 1865 -on military lines by Rev. William Booth. In his revival and mission work -among the lower classes of England he found in his wife Catherine a -perfect helpmate. Together they conquered with their revivals first -London, then the province, then the United Kingdom, and afterwards -country after country in every part of the world. - -[Illustration: - - CATHERINE BOOTH, THE “MOTHER OF THE SALVATION ARMY.” -] - -In England =Mrs. Booth= was the first woman preacher, and if she had -done nothing else but vindicate the right of woman to speak in public -and preach the Gospel, she would have done great work. But she did far -more than this. By making her whole life, and every thought and action -subservient to the cause of the Salvation Army, she brought comfort and -happiness to many thousands of poor souls. - -The work of this “Mother of the Army” was continued by her daughter, -=Evangeline Booth=, known in the history of the organization as “The -Commander”; by =Emma Booth-Tucker=, known as “The Consul”; by =Mrs. W. -Branwell Booth=, “The General,” and by =Elizabeth Swift Brengle=, known -as “The Colonel.” - -The first woman in the Christian world to be ecclesiastically ordained -was =Antoinette Brown Blackwell=, an American woman who had graduated -from Oberlin, Ohio. She was ordained in 1852 in South Butler, N. Y., by -a council called by the First Congregational Church. =Rev. Olympia -Brown= was the next woman ordained ten years later. In December, 1863, -the =Rev. Augusta J. Chapin= was the first woman to receive the title of -Doctor of Divinity. - -Since the ordination of these women the number of female “clergymen” in -the various denominations has increased rapidly. According to the Census -of 1910 their number within the United States was 7395 in that year. The -success of woman in the pulpit is no longer a question but an -affirmation. This is what Rev. Phebe A. Hanford said on the subject: - -“Other things being equal, why may not a woman preach and pray and -perform pastoral duty as well as a man? Why should she not preside at -the Lord’s table, consecrate in baptism the child whose parents would -dedicate their choicest possessions to God, or the adult who would thus -express his faith in Christ and his determination that “whatever others -may do he will serve the Lord”? When two loving hearts desire to join -hands and walk the earthly pathway side by side, why should not a woman -minister pronounce the sacred formula and convey the sanction of the Law -and the Gospel to their matrimonial purpose? And when the voice of -consolation is sorely needed, and the solemn words are to be spoken -which consign the silent dust to its last resting-place, why should not -a womanly woman officiate as well as any tender-hearted and eloquent -man? Surely woman is proverbially compassionate; and that she is often -eloquent with voice and pen, and with poetic expression and the fervor -of truth which can reach the heart, who can deny?” - -[Illustration] - - - WOMAN IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. - -It is hard to realize in these days of professional equality between the -sexes that only half a century ago a woman who desired to study medicine -was considered such a phenomenon that her morality and the purity of her -motives were questioned. And yet this desire is only natural, as the -life of every woman has moments when she has to call for medical help. -There are especially the transition to womanhood, all the experiences of -motherhood, and the many ailments peculiar to women. To be compelled to -consult in these cases a male physician, is for many bashful girls and -women such a repellant thought, that they quite often postpone it from -week to week, until too late. - -No doubt such were the reasons and experiences which caused =Agnodice=, -an Athenian girl, born about 300 B. C., to disguise her sex in order -that she might study medicine. Like Dr. Mary Walker in the 19th Century, -she donned male attire and became a disciple of Herophilus, an eminent -physician and anatomist of the Alexandrian School. Her specialty was -midwifery and women’s diseases, and when she started to practice -herself, she met with such great success that her male colleagues became -jealous and tried to prevent her from practicing by accusing her of -corruption before the Areopagus. But the result of the proceedings was -quite contrary to their expectations, as a law was immediately passed -allowing all freeborn women to learn midwifery. - -Since then female physicians practiced in Hellas as well as in -Alexandria and in Rome. And when in the 9th Century after Christ the -famous Schola Salernitana was established at Salerno, a department for -women’s diseases was included, with a number of female professors as -teachers. The names of several of these professors are still known; the -most noted was the celebrated =Tortula=, who lived in the 11th Century. -=Abella=, =Constanza=, =Calendas=, and =Hildegarde= too have been -praised for their great ability. - -This eminent position held by women in the medical profession declined -slowly after the 12th Century, and practically disappeared after the -16th Century. The cause for this relapse was undoubtedly the increasing -hostility of the Christian Church toward any occupation of women with -sciences. This prejudice remained alive up to modern times. It was -dominant in 1845 when a young American woman, =Elizabeth Blackwell=, -decided to study medicine. The same motives as had moved the Athenian -Agnodice and the loss of a dear woman friend caused the young American -to write to various physicians asking as to the wisdom and possibility -of a woman becoming a doctor. The answers she received were unanimously -to the effect that while the idea was a valuable one it was impossible -of accomplishment for many reasons. This verdict only served to -intensify her determination to accomplish her purpose. After two years -of private study she went to Philadelphia, which in those days, 1847, -was considered the seat of medical learning in this country, and made -application to the four medical colleges for admission as a regular -student. But such a revolutionary idea was not to be entertained, and -all the doors remained closed to her. One kindly Quaker adviser said to -her: “Elizabeth, it is of no use trying. Thee cannot gain admission to -these schools. Thee must go to Paris and don masculine attire to gain -the necessary knowledge.” - -It had now become a moral crusade with Miss Blackwell, and the justice -and common sense of her undertaking seemed so supreme that she -determined to push the warfare to the farthest limit. After similarly -unsuccessful attempts in New York, she obtained a complete list of all -the smaller institutions of the Northern States, examined their -prospectuses, and sent applications for admission to twelve of the most -promising. After long delay an answer came from the medical department -of the small university at Geneva, in the western part of New York -State. It seems that the faculty had submitted Miss Blackwell’s letter -to the medical class, who adopted the following resolutions: - -“Resolved—That one of the radical principles of a republican government -is the universal education of both sexes; that to every branch of -scientific education the door should be open equally to all; that the -application of Elizabeth Blackwell to become a member of our class meets -our entire approbation; and in extending our unanimous invitation we -pledge ourselves that no conduct of ours shall cause her to regret her -attendance at this institution.” - -Their gallantry won the day, the faculty cordially opened the doors of -the institution, and she began her studies there at once. - -Being the first female student in the small place her appearance of -course gave rise to many comments. Many people looked at this new woman -in wonder; some even inclined to regard her as a lunatic, or a -disorderly person. But her behavior and seriousness compelled respect, -and when in 1849 she received her degree, the public press very -generally commented upon the event in favorable terms and even in Europe -some notice of it was taken. She found fewer obstacles in her path in -her studies abroad, especially in Paris. After her return to America she -began practice in New York City, and here again she had to do pioneer -work. The medical fraternity stood aloof, refusing to consult with her, -and society in general somewhat distrusted the innovation. But in time -her work received just recognition and the status of women in the -profession became fully established. In 1868 Dr. Blackwell founded the -“Woman’s Medical College of New York.” The later years of her life were -spent in England, where she also did much in moulding public opinion -along the lines of philanthropy, especially in opening hospitals and -dispensaries for women and children. - -A few years after Miss Blackwell had received her diploma, another -remarkable woman, =Florence Nightingale=, aroused world-wide admiration -by her noble service during the Crimean war of 1853–56. Intensely -devoted to the alleviation of suffering, she had since 1849 paid great -attention to the sanitary conditions of civilian as well as military -hospitals, which in many cases she found rather poor. In 1851 she went -into training as a nurse, and when in 1853 war was declared with Russia, -and the hospitals on the Bosphorus were soon crowded with the sick and -wounded, she offered the English Government to go out and organize a -nursing department at Scutari. Starting with a unit of thirty-seven -nurses, she arrived at Constantinople when the mortality in the -hospitals had become appalling. Seeing clearly the cause for this -frightful state in the bad sanitary arrangements of the hospitals, Miss -Nightingale devoted incessant labor to the removal of these causes, as -well as to the mitigation of their effects, with such success, that in -the English army the death-rate fell from 22¼% to only 2¼%. - -After her return to England, in 1856, the Government as well as Queen -Victoria and the public were not slow to acknowledge her splendid -services. While the Queen presented her with a cross set with diamonds, -the people subscribed a fund of several hundred thousand dollars for the -purpose of enabling her to found an institution for the training of a -superior order of nurses in connection with the St. Thomas’s and King’s -College Hospitals. Miss Nightingale also enriched the medical literature -by two valuable books, “Notes on Nursing” and “Notes on Hospitals,” in -which she gave the results of her lifelong observations. - -The example of Miss Nightingale had much to do with calling forth the -exertions of American women during the Civil War. As soon as there were -wounded soldiers to heal, and military hospitals to serve, the patriotic -and benevolent women of America remembered the great work of Florence -Nightingale, and hastened to the front. As A. W. Calhoun states in his -“Social History of the American Family,” by 1864 there were busy in the -North 250 women physicians. Women planned and organized also the “U. S. -Sanitary Commission,” for the alleviation of the sufferings of the -battlefield. Its pre-eminent utility was universally recognized. It -caused likewise several great charity fairs, the last two of which were -held in New York and Philadelphia and yielded $1,000,000 and $1,200,000 -respectively. - -Among the female physicians, who did service during the Civil War, the -most noteworthy was =Dr. Mary E. Walker=. Having studied medicine at the -Medical College in Syracuse, N. Y., she was the first woman commissioned -to serve on the surgical staff of any army in time of war. On assuming -her duties as surgeon in the war, she found hospital efficiency and -hoopskirts incompatible; so she sacrificed the skirt and donned a man’s -coat and trousers. In recognition of her able services Congress not only -awarded her a Medal of Honor, but also allowed her—the only instance in -history—by a special act to continue to wear male attire. Dr. Walker -declared many times that her sole reason for advocating dress reform for -women were hygienic ones. A real pioneer in her profession, she also -maintained for many years a farm for sufferers from tuberculosis and -carried on a school for prevention of that disease modelled after a plan -of her own. - -Among the women, whose names appear in the history of the Civil War, one -of the most brilliant was =Miss Clara Barton=. Devoting herself to the -care of the wounded soldiers, she won for herself as superintendent of -the hospitals in the army of the James the surname “the Florence -Nightingale of America.” During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 she -joined the German branch of the Red Cross Society, that noble -institution, which in 1859 had been founded by Henry Durant, a citizen -of Geneva, Switzerland. - -Inspired by the example of Miss Nightingale, and horrified by the -ghastly scenes of the Italian battlefields, he resolved to work for the -proper treatment and nursing of wounded soldiers, while still on the -ground. At his strong appeal the Swiss Federal Council invited all -European nations to a convention in order to discuss proper steps to be -taken in this direction. Attended by delegates from Baden, Belgium, -Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Prussia, Switzerland and Wurtemberg, -the convention met on August 22, 1864, in Geneva, and decided, that -henceforth not only all places where wounded soldiers are treated, but -also all persons, engaged in this samaritan service, should be regarded -as neutrals and distinguished by white flags or white bands showing a -red cross. Such places must not be attacked, but protected by the -soldiers of all combating armies. - -In the further history and evolution of this international =Society of -the Red Cross= women have played a most prominent part. Miss Barton -established during the Franco-Prussian War several military hospitals -and, by conducting them, distinguished herself so that she was decorated -with the Iron Cross. After her return to the United States she organized -in 1882 the “American Red Cross Society,” of which she became the first -president. The work of Miss Barton and the Red Cross in the -Spanish-American War and the great help given to the sufferers after the -great tidal wave in Galveston, Texas, caused the United States Senate -and the Texas Legislature to adopt resolutions of thanks. - -All these great efforts of women could not fail to create a most -favorable impression toward woman’s activity in medicine. In England an -act of 1868 for the first time opened the study of pharmacy to women; -and after a long struggle they obtained their footing as physicians. In -1874 a special medical school was opened for women in London. In 1876 an -act authorized every recognized medical body to open its doors to women. -In 1878 a supplemental charter enabled the University of London to grant -degrees to women in all its faculties, including medicine. As a result -up to the close of 1895 264 women had been placed on the British -register as duly qualified medical practitioners. - -In the United States similar progress was made. - -According to the census of 1910, there were 7399 women physicians and -surgeons in the United States. - -Whereas fifty years ago there was great objection to admitting women to -the medical societies, now the men of the profession welcome women -physicians to the societies and to their discussions, and are more than -willing to consult with them. The advantage of employing women -physicians has been recognized likewise by many hospitals, sanitariums -and insane asylums; the courts too recognize the justice of women’s -preferring women in the physical examination required by law. There can -be no doubt, that the 20th Century opens to women physicians -undreamed-of possibilities in science and in the art of healing. - -[Illustration] - - - WOMAN IN THE PROFESSION OF THE LAW. - -When in the year of our Lord 1869 American papers reported that in Iowa -a woman had been admitted to the bar, most readers were inclined to -regard this “bit of news” as one of the many jokes, sprung occasionally -upon credulous people in order to warn them what the “new woman” might -be able to do. But in this case the “joke” turned out to be a fact. And -if people had been somewhat better acquainted with their Bibles, they -would have known that the woman lawyer of Iowa was only another -confirmation of Rabbi Ben Akiba’s famous saying: “There is nothing new -under the sun!” - -Open your Bible and read in Chapter 4 of the Judges IV about =Deborah=, -the Joan of Arc of the Hebrews. Of this most extraordinary woman -recorded in Jewish history it is stated that she was a prophetess as -well as a judge, “to whom the children of Israel came for judgment.” - -The Greeks and Romans too had female lawyers. From writers of the -classic past we know that =Aspasia= pleaded causes in the Athenian -forum, and =Amenia Sentia= and =Hortensia= in the Roman forum. And -Valerius Maximus (Hist. lib. VIII, Chapter 3) states that the right of -Roman women to follow the profession of advocate was taken away in -consequence of the obnoxious conduct of =Caliphurnia=, who, from “excess -of boldness” and “by reason of making the tribunals resound with -howlings uncommon in the forum,” was forbidden to plead. The law, made -to meet the especial case of Caliphurnia, ultimately “under the -influence of the anti-feministic tendencies” of the period, was -converted into a general one. In its wording the law sets forth that the -original reason for woman’s exclusion “rested solely on the doings of -said person.” - -The “howlings of Caliphurnia” furnished the legislators of all later -periods with a welcome pretext to exclude women from practice of the -law, and it was not till 1869 that a woman again obtained admission to -the bar. This pioneer was =Miss Arabella A. Mansfield= of Mount -Pleasant, Iowa, who was admitted to the Iowa bar in 1869, under the -statute providing only for admission of “white male citizens.” - -The next female lawyer was =Mrs. Belva Ann Lockwood=, a graduate of the -Law School of the National University at Washington, D. C. Having been -admitted in 1873 to practice before the Supreme Court of the District of -Columbia, she applied in October, 1876, for admission as practitioner of -the Supreme Court of the United States, but was rejected under the -following decision: “By the uniform practice of the Court from its -organization to the present time, and by the fair construction of its -rules, none but men are admitted to practice before it as attorneys and -counselors. This is in accordance with immemorial usage in England, and -the law and practice in all the States, until within a recent period; -and the Court does not feel called upon to make a change until such a -change is required by statute or a more extended practice in the highest -courts of the States.” - -[Illustration: - - BELVA A. LOCKWOOD. -] - -But if the members of the Supreme Court had entertained the hope of -scaring away women once and for all, they soon enough found that they -were mistaken. Mrs. Lockwood drafted a bill and secured its passage in -Congress, providing “that any woman who shall have been a member of the -bar of the highest court of any State or Territory, or of the Supreme -Court of the District of Columbia, for the space of three years, and -shall have maintained a good standing before such court, and who shall -be a person of good moral character, shall, on motion, and the -production of such record, be admitted to practice before the Supreme -Court of the United States.” This bill was approved on February 15th, -1879. Since then Mrs. Lockwood as well as a number of other female -lawyers have been admitted under this law to practice before the highest -court of the United States. - -A “Woman’s International Bar Association” was organized in 1888, for the -purpose of establishing law schools for women and of promoting the -interests of female lawyers as well as of securing better legal -conditions for women. - -According to the Census of 1910 there were 1010 woman lawyers in the -United States. - -“Having taken up the law,” so said Miss Edith J. Griswold, herself a -counsellor-at-law, “woman will not rest until she stands on a level with -man, and the end of the Twentieth Century will probably find an -equilibrium in the United States Government that can only be obtained -(as in the home government) by the equal balancing of the different -propensities of male and female mind in the making and enforcing of -laws. The prophecy that the time is coming when woman will govern seems -ludicrous, and yet it is no more ludicrous than the present lopsided -arrangement whereby man has the exclusive power of government. With the -rapid advance of woman conditions are being manifested that require -woman’s judgment, and to obtain true justice in matters relating to both -sexes an equal number of men and women should compose both the court and -the jury. By the end of the Twentieth Century, I believe, a woman’s -judgment will carry as much weight as a man’s, and the opinions handed -down from our higher courts will have to be concurred in by an equal -number of male and female judges.” - -[Illustration] - - - WOMEN AS INVENTORS. - -Sometimes, when the merits of the woman movement were discussed, its -opponents made it their trump that the female sex is without any -inventive spirit and that this want should be regarded as a convincing -evidence for the inferiority of woman s mind. That this assertion was -never true at all, but made in absolute ignorance of the real facts, -becomes evident, when we recall, that primeval and aboriginal women have -been the inventors of our most important industries, of agriculture, -weaving, basketry, pottery, tannery, brewing, and many other peaceful -arts. And there is not the slightest doubt, that during the times of -Antiquity and the Middle Ages women have been the greatest factor in the -evolution of these industries, in which they remained constantly busy. - -Among the few instances of which records have been preserved, is that of -=Barbara Uttmann=, a German woman of Annaberg, Saxony, who in 1561 -invented the Cluny-lace. Herewith she opened, for the extremely poor -people of the Erzgebirge, at the most critical time, a new and well -paying industry, in which in 1800 about 35,000 girls and women were -busy. - -Another important invention was made in 1792 in America by the widow of -General Nathaniel Green. It was the so-called cotton gin by which the -difficult work to separate the seed from the lint was greatly -simplified. To pick the seed from one pound of cotton had been formerly -considered a good day’s work. With the aid of the cotton gin, which -consists of a series of saws revolving between the interstices of an -iron bed upon which the cotton is placed so as to be drawn through -whilst the seeds are left behind, several hundred pounds of cotton can -be cleaned in the same time. This invention stimulated enormously the -cultivation of cotton and the manufacture of cotton goods in America. In -the South, where so far cotton had been produced only in small -quantities, it now became the main product. While in 1792 the quantity -exported from the United States was 138,324 pounds, it increased by the -year 1800 to nearly 18,000,000 pounds. In the North it led to the -establishment of cotton mills and factories on a large scale. - -As only few countries have taken the trouble to prepare statistics about -inventions made by women it is impossible to give reliable facts about -what women have contributed to human culture in this line. - -Their most intensive activity has been observed in the United States, -especially since with the founding of woman’s colleges and the opening -of the universities, the education of the female sex became a more -careful and broader one. - -The U. S. Patent Office at Washington, D. C., has published “Lists of -Women Inventors,” in three volumes, covering the period from 1790 to -March 1, 1895. From these lists it appears that till 1849 only 32 -inventions by women have been registered at the Patent Office. This -number increased to 290 during the period from 1850 to 1870; during -1870–1890 to 2568, and up to 1910 to 7942. These numbers prove that with -the increase of woman’s knowledge and with the closer contact with -modern industrial life her inventive spirit has likewise developed. Also -the inventions became more manifold. While prior to 1850 they were -almost exclusively confined to dress and household, they now cover all -fields of human activity. - -This fact became most evident during the terrible years of the World -War. Some time ago the “Women Lawyer Journal” reported that of all the -many inventions registered since 1914, fifty per cent. have been entered -by women. Among these inventions have been such for the better -protection of soldiers and aeronauts as well as for the greater comfort -of the wounded and crippled. Other inventions meant improvement in -wireless telegraphy, gas masks, submarine boats and hundreds of other -objects. - -[Illustration] - - - EMINENT FEMALE SCIENTISTS. - -Just as hostile as had been the clergy to the admission of women to -ecclesiastical office, so unwilling were many prejudiced scholars to -admit women into the sacred realms of science. By hundreds of arguments -they tried to prove the inability of women to do any deeply scientific -work. They explained that the hard study would impair their health, -their chances of marriage, and their true destination as mothers. Higher -education would make women unfit for domestic life, and, besides, they -would hardly produce anything of real scientific value. - -If these learned gentlemen would have taken the trouble to make -themselves somewhat more acquainted with the history of science they -would have found the names of numerous women on record, who, at their -time, were among the leaders in the most abstruse sciences. Several -centuries before Christ Hellas as well as Rome had a number of brilliant -female philosophers, among them =Damo=, the daughter of Pythagoras, who -lived about 580–500 B. C. She was one of his favorite disciples, and to -her the great savant entrusted all his writings, enjoining her not to -make public all the secrets of his philosophy. This command she strictly -obeyed, though tempted by large offers while she was struggling with -poverty. - -Socrates, the great philosopher, declares that he learned of a woman, -=Diotima=, the “divine philosophy,” how to find from corporeal beauty -the beauty of the soul, the angelical mind. Diotima lived in Greece, -about 468 B. C. - -=Arete= is known as the daughter of Aristippus of Cyrene, the founder of -the Cyrenaic system of philosophy, who flourished about 380 B. C. She -was carefully instructed by her father, and after his death taught his -system with great success. =Leontium=, living about 350 B. C., was a -disciple of Epicure, and wrote in defense of his philosophy. =Tymicha=, -a Lacedaemonian, was the most celebrated female philosopher of the -Pythagorean school. When she, in 330 B. C., was brought before -Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, as a prisoner, he made her very -advantageous offers, if she would reveal the mysteries of Pythagorean -science; but she rejected them all with scorn and contempt. And when he -threatened her with torture, she instantly bit off her tongue, and spat -it in the tyrant’s face, to show him that no pain could make her violate -the pledge of secrecy. - -Of =Hipparchia=, a lady of Thrace, who lived about 328 B. C., it is -known that her attachment to learning was so great, that having attended -several lectures of Crates, the cynic, she resolved to marry him though -he was old, ugly, and deformed. She accompanied him everywhere to public -entertainments and other places, which was not customary with Greecian -women. She also wrote several philosophical theses, and reasonings and -questions proposed to Theodorus, the atheist; but none of her writings -are extant. - -Ancient Rome too had a number of female philosophers, among them -=Cornelia=, “the mother of the Gracchi.” She frequently gave public -lectures and was more fortunate with her disciples than with her sons. -It was Cicero, who said of her that, had she not been a woman, she would -have deserved the first place among philosophers. In what esteem she was -held is shown by the fact that a statue was erected to her with the -inscription, “Cornelia, Mater Gracchorum.” She died about 230 B. C. - -The most renowned female philosopher of the classic times was =Hypatia=, -the lovely daughter of Theon, the head of the famous Alexandrian School -in Alexandria, Egypt. Born in 370 A. D., Hypatia was taught by her -father and acquired such extensive knowledge and learning, that the -Bycantine Church historian Socrates, as well as Nicephorus placed her -far above all the philosophers of her time. Several other learned -contemporaries praise her in similar terms. Sinesius, bishop of -Ptolemais, never mentions her without the profoundest respect, and in -terms of affection little short of adoration. In a letter to his brother -Euoptius he writes: “Salute the most honored and the most beloved of -God, the Philosopher Hypatia, and that happy society, which enjoys the -blessing of her divine voice.” And in a long epistle he sends her with -the manuscript of a book, he asks her opinion and states his resolution -not to publish the book without her approbation. - -Hypatia succeeded her father in the government of the Alexandrian -School, teaching from the chair where Ammonius, Hieracles, and other -celebrated philosophers had taught; and this at a time, when men of -immense learning abounded in Alexandria and in other parts of the Roman -empire. In fact her renown was so universally acknowledged, that she had -always a crowded auditorium. What a subject for an able artist, to -present this beautiful woman in her chair, with the flower of all the -youth of Africa, Asia and Europe sitting at her feet, eagerly imbibing -knowledge from this oracle of wisdom. - -Socrates states that she was consulted by the magistrates of Alexandria -in all important cases. This frequently brought her among the greatest -assemblages of men without causing the least censure of her manners. -“Considering the confidence and authority which she had acquired by her -learning,” says Socrates, “she sometimes came to the judges with -singular modesty. Nor was she anything abashed to appear thus among a -crowd of men; for all persons, by reason of her extraordinary -discretion, did at the same time both reverence and admire her.” - -Unfortunately this wonderful woman was to become a martyr of science. -The population of Alexandria was split into three hostile groups—the -Pagans, the Jews, and the Christians. The latter, under the leadership -of the patriarch Cyril, assailed in violent zeal Jews as well as pagans, -and heretics or supposed heretics alike, driving them by thousands from -the city, destroying their synagogues and temples, and pillaging their -houses. It was during one of these riots, that the illustrious Hypatia -was attacked by a mob of vicious monks, torn from her carriage, dragged -into a church, stripped naked and clubbed to death. Then the murderers -in fanatic frenzy tore the body to pieces, carried the limbs to a public -square and burnt them to ashes. This happened in Lent 415. - -All the writings of Hypatia, among them her treatise “On the -Astronomical Canon of Diophantus” and another “On the Conics of -Apollonius” are lost. Most probably they too were destroyed by the -fanatic Christian mobs, who, after the murder of Hypatia, extinguished -the Greek School of philosophers and scientists at Alexandria.— - -Astronomy, probably the most ancient of the sciences, has since early -days exerted a singular attraction on women. - -Herman Davis, in his essay “Women Astronomers,” published in the reports -of Columbia University, New York, gives the names of a large number of -women astronomers, beginning with several of classic times. Of the -Egyptians he mentions =Aganice=, =Athyrta=, =Berenice=, =Hipparchia= and -=Occelo=, who were connected with the Alexandrian School. Of the Greeks -he names =Aristocle= and =Athenais=, and of Thessaly =Aglaonice=. But -nothing definite is known about their achievement. - -Davis likewise gives an account of =Hildegarde=, abbess of the monastery -on Mount St. Rupert near Bingen on the Rhine. This learned woman, who -lived from 1099 to 1180, wrote a book in Latin, in which some marvelous -statements are claimed to have been made: 1. that the Sun is in the -midst of the firmament retaining by its force the stars which move -around it; 2. that when it is cold in the Northern hemisphere it is warm -in the Southern, that the celestial temperature may thus be in -equilibrium; 3. that the stars not only shine with unequal brilliancy -but are themselves really unequal in magnitude; 4. that as blood moves -in the veins and makes them pulsate, so do the stars move and send forth -pulsations of light. “If even one-half of these marvelous statements are -found in Hildegarde’s writings as early as the 12th Century,” says -Davis, “then this woman may well be classed with the great forerunners -of modern astronomy, with Copernicus, Galileo and Newton, for she was -three centuries earlier than the first of them.” - -The first female astronomer of whom we have more intimate information, -was =Marie Cunitz=, born in 1610 as the eldest daughter of a physician -in Silesia. Commanding an extraordinary general culture, her principal -study was mathematics and astronomy. Her tables, published under the -title “Urania Propitia, sive Tabulæ Astronomicæ,” gained for her a great -reputation, and the by-name “the Silesian Pallas.” Dedicated to the -Emperor Ferdinand III. the book was published in Latin and in German in -1650 and 1651. - -Another noted astronomer was =Caroline Lucretia Herschel=, born in 1750 -at Hanover, Germany. In 1772 she accompanied her brother William to -England, and when he accepted the office of astronomer-royal, she became -his constant assistant in his observations. In this capacity she -succeeded in discovering independently eight comets, five of which had -not been observed before. Also she discovered many of the small stellar -nebulæ which were included in her brother’s catalogue. For her many -contributions to astronomy in 1835 she was presented by the Astronomical -Society with their gold medal, and was also elected an honorary member. - -When the memoirs of Miss Herschel were published, the editor, in -describing her character, said: “Great men and great causes have always -some helper of whom the outside world knows but little. These helpers -and sustainers have the same quality in common—absolute devotion and -unwavering faith in the individual or the cause. Seeking nothing for -themselves, thinking nothing of themselves, they have all the intense -power of sympathy, a noble love of giving themselves for the service of -others. Of this noble company of unknown helpers Caroline Herschel was -one.”— - -This capacity of self-denial distinguished likewise a number of other -women, whose names are known in the history of astronomy, as for -instance =Theresa= and =Madeline Manfredi=, the daughters of Eustachio -Manfredi, from 1674 to 1739 director of the observatory of Bologna. -Further, =Marie Margarethe Kirch=, who assisted her husband, the -astronomer Kirch, in the upper Lausatia; Madame =Lepante=, the wife of -the famous clock-maker Jean Andre Lepante; and nearer our own time, -there is =Maria Mitchell=, born 1818 at Nantucket, Mass., who at an -early age became the assistant of her father. Carrying on a series of -independent observations, she was in 1865 appointed professor of -astronomy in Vassar College. - -=Emilie de Bréteuil=, =Antonie C. Asher=, =Elizabeth von Matt=, -=Wilhelmine Witte= and =Agnes Mary Clerke= likewise distinguished -themselves in astronomy. The last named lady published in 1885 a -“History of Astronomy” and in 1890 “The System of the Stars.” These -writings, conspicuous for a careful sifting and due assimilation of -facts, with a happy diction that is at the same time both popular and -scientific, place the author in the foremost rank of writers on -astronomy.— - -As an eminent mathematician, linguist and philosopher =Maria Gaetana -Agnesi= is known to every student of science. Born 1718 at Milan, she -gave early indication of extraordinary ability and devoted herself to -the abstract sciences. In mathematics she attained such consummate -skill, that, when her father, professor of mathematics at Bologna, died, -the Pope allowed her to succeed him. In this capacity she wrote her -famous work: “Instituzions Analitiche ad Uso Gioventu Italiana,” which -was published at Milan in 1748. Its first volume treats of the analysis -of finite quantities, and the second of the analysis of infinitesimals. -The able mathematician John Colson, professor at the University of -Cambridge, considered this work so excellent, that he studied Italian in -order to translate it into English. Under the title “Analytical -Institutions” this translation was published in 1801, to do honor to -Maria Agnesi, and also to prove that women have minds capable of -comprehending the most abstruse studies. - -Another female mathematician, =Sophie Germain=, born in 1776 in Paris, -won the grand prize, offered by the Institute of France for the best -memoir giving the mathematical theory of elastic surfaces and comparing -it with experience. This question had come up in 1808. Great -mathematicians were not wanting in Paris at that time—Lagrange, Laplace, -Poisson, Fourier, and others, but none of them were inclined to tackle -the question. Lagrange, in fact, had said that it could not be solved by -any of the then known mathematical methods. The offer was twice renewed -by the Institute, and in 1816 the prize was conferred upon Sophie -Germain, who in 1808 as well as in 1810 had made two unsuccessful -attempts to solve the difficult question. The same woman distinguished -herself by a number of other valuable papers and philosophical writings. - -In more recent years =Sonja Kowalewska=, a Russian, who had studied -mathematics at the universities of Berlin and Goettingen, became famous -as the winner of the Prix Bordin, offered by the Academy of Paris. Later -on, as a professor of mathematics in Stockholm, she wrote a number of -excellent professional works, but died there in her fortieth year. - -Among the British scientific writers of the 19th Century the most famous -was =Mary Somerville=, whom Laplace called the most learned woman of her -age and the only woman who understood his works. In translating his -brilliant work “Mécanique Celeste,” she greatly popularized its form. -Its publication in 1831 under the title of “The Mechanism of the -Heavens” at once made her famous. Her own works: “Connections of -Physical Science,” “Physical Geography” and “Molecular and Microscopic -Science” have been declared masterworks, distinguished by a clear and -crisp style, and the underlying enthusiasm for the subject. - -In the history of chemistry the name of =Marie Curie= will be forever -connected with the wonderful discovery of Radium and Radio-activity. -Born on November 7, 1867, at Warsaw as Marja Sklodowska she came to -Paris in 1888 and studied at the Faculté des Sciences. In 1895 she -married Professor Pierre Curie and joined him in his chemical -investigations. It was in 1898 that she published a most valuable work -on metals in solution. Her investigations in collaboration with her -husband led to the discovery of two new bodies: Polonium and Radium, -which are found in certain minerals, especially in pitch blende in a -state of extreme solution; as a matter of fact, to the extent only of a -few decigrammes to the ton of mineral for Radium, and much less in the -case of Polonium. The separation of these elements presented extreme -difficulties. - -Further investigations led to the observation of most interesting -phenomena in connection with these bodies—chemical effects, luminous -effects, effects of heating, etc. New realms of science were -disclosed—the science of Radio-active phenomena. In recognition of these -discoveries in 1903 the Nobel Prize was awarded to Professor Curie and -his wife. And when Mrs. Curie, after the tragic death of her husband, -accomplished the “isolation” of Radium and also determined its atomic -weight, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for a second time in 1911. At -present Mrs. Curie is Director of the Physico-Chemical Department of the -University of Paris. - -For valuable research work in bacteriology =Dr. Rhoda Erdmann=, a former -assistant of the famous professor Robert Koch in Berlin, became most -favorably known. Having published several excellent treatises on the -amoeba and protozoa, she followed in 1913 a call to the -Sheffield-Institute of Yale University. - -In the wide fields of archæology and ethnology likewise several women -have achieved remarkable results. Among those scientists who devoted -themselves to the study of archæology and the ancient history of America -the name of =Zelia Nuttall= is well known. She is the author of many -interesting essays on the relics left by the Aztecs, Toltecs, and Mayas. -Science is also indebted to her for the so-called “Codex Nuttall,” now -preserved in the Peabody-Museum at Cambridge, Mass. - -Another noteworthy ethnologist was =Erminnie Adele Smith=, who, as -compiler of the famous Iroquois-English Dictionary, was distinguished by -being elected the first woman member of the New York Academy of Science. - -=Alice Cunningham Fletcher= made most valuable investigations about the -religious and social conditions of several Indian tribes of the Far -West, especially of the Sioux, Omaha, and Pawnee Indians. Her very -exhaustive studies have been published in the Annual Reports of the -Bureau of American Ethnology. - -The same reports contain highly interesting papers by =Matilda Cox -Stevenson= and =Tilly E. Stevenson= about the mythology, esoteric -societies and sociology of the Zuni Indians. - -=Miss Elsie Clews Parsons= in New York has published valuable monographs -about the folk-lore of the Pueblo Indians and the Negroes of the Bahama -Islands. =A. M. Czaplicka=, =Mary Kingsley=, =Barbara Freire-Marreco=, -=Adele Breton=, =Mrs. Jochelson-Brodsky=, and =Maria Tubino= are -likewise most favorably known as writers on archæology and ethnology. - -For a number of years =Johanna Mestorf= has held the position of -director of the Museum of Antiquities of Schleswig-Holstein. - -=Cornelia Horsford=, the learned daughter of the late Professor Eben -Horsford of Cambridge, Mass., made great efforts to settle many -questions in regard to the early voyages of discovery by the Norsemen to -Greenland and Vinland. In the pursuit of these studies she sent several -scientific expeditions to Iceland as well as to Greenland and published -a number of valuable essays, among them “Graves of the Northmen”; -“Dwellings of the Saga Time in Iceland, Greenland and Vinland”; “Vinland -and its Ruins”; and “Ruins of the Saga-Times.” - -=Anne Pratt= is known as an able botanist. And =Eleanor Anne Ormerod= -has been hailed in England as “the Protector of Agriculture,” as she -organized the valuable “Annual Series of Reports on Injurious Insects -and Pests,” distributed by the Government. - -Among the explorers of the Dark Continent a Dutch lady, =Miss -Alexandrine Tinné=, created a sensation by her daring journeys in the -upper Nile regions. During her first expedition, which lasted from 1861 -to 1864, she penetrated great stretches of unknown territory, and was -the first to enter the land of the Niam Niam. Several members of her -expedition died from the terrible hardships that had to be overcome. -After her return to Cairo Miss Tinné started in January, 1869, on a -still more hazardous expedition, which was to proceed from Tripoli to -Lake Tchad, and from there by way of Wadai, Darfur, and Kordofan to the -Upper Nile. But while her caravan was on the route from Murzuk to Rhat, -the daring explorer was murdered by her own escort. - -An English lady, =Florence Caroline Dixie=, explored the wilderness of -Central Patagonia. =Isabelle Bishop= became known for her extensive -travels through Asia, and the masterful descriptions of those countries -she had traversed. Her best work is “Korea and Her Neighbors.” - -=Therese, Princess of Bavaria=, wrote several highly interesting works -about her extensive travels in Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and -the tropical regions of Brazil. =Cecilie Seler=, the wife of the famous -archæologist Eduard Seler, is the author of the valuable book “On -Ancient Roads in Mexico and Guatemala.” - -While these examples—which might be increased by many others—give ample -proof of woman’s ability in regard to scientific work, it must be -stated, that, up to the middle of the 19th Century, men did very little -to encourage their struggling sisters in this line of activity. Indeed, -there are not a few instances of strong disinclination on the part of -statesmen as well as of scientists, to smooth woman’s road to higher -education. Centuries passed before women succeeded in gaining the right -to follow their studies in colleges and universities, a right they had -enjoyed in Italy during the 10th and 11th Centuries as well as during -the Renaissance. - -The first institution of modern times, that admitted women on the same -footing with men, was Oberlin College in Ohio, founded in 1833 and open -to all irrespective of sex and color. The first woman who graduated here -was Miss Zerniah Porter, who in 1838 received her diploma in the -so-called literary course. The State universities of the West that were -founded later on all followed the example set by Oberlin College and -gradually the older ones adopted the same policy, so that all over the -West and South, where the State university is a strong influence, these -institutions are open to women. Throughout these regions women’s -education is for this reason almost synonymous with co-education. In the -Eastern part of the United States, however, the private college -predominates, and there is a greater degree of separation. But even here -the restrictions are gradually being removed, and most of the men’s -colleges and universities admit women to some departments with some -restrictions, or have an affiliated woman’s college. - -America has also a number of independent colleges exclusively for women. -The best known among them are Vassar College, at Poughkeepsie, New York, -organized in 1861, with 1124 students and 144 teachers in 1918; -Wellesley College in Massachusetts, organized in 1875, and with 1612 -students and 138 teachers in 1918; Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania organized -in 1880, and with 489 students and 63 teachers in 1918; Smith College at -Northampton, Mass. - -France began to open its universities to women in 1858; England followed -in 1864; Switzerland in 1866; Sweden in 1870; Denmark, Holland, Finland -and India in 1875; Italy and Belgium in 1876; Australia in 1878; Norway -in 1884; Iceland in 1886; Hungary in 1895; Austria in 1897; Prussia in -1899, and Germany in 1900. - -To-day no one clings any longer to the old prejudices against the -abilities of women. College education among women has become so common -as to attract little or no attention. It is regarded as the essential -training for intellectual, professional and business life, and it is no -longer an effort to secure it, but rather to make it of the greatest -possible value to the students and to the community. As women do a large -proportion of the teaching in public schools as well as in colleges for -both sexes, the education of the citizens of the 20th Century depends -largely upon the opportunities available to women in the past, present -and future.— - -As educators as well as founders of learned institutions large numbers -of women became most favorably known. There was for instance =Jeanne -Louise Henriette Campan=. When the tempests of the French Revolution -began to rage, she held a position at the royal court as reader to the -young princesses. Thrown on her own resources after the dethronement and -execution of the King and the Queen she established a school at -Saint-Germain. The institution prospered, and was patronized by Mme. -Beauharnais, whose influence led to the appointment of Mme. Campan as -superintendent of the Academy founded by Napoleon at Ecouen, for the -education of the daughters and sisters of members of the Legion of -Honor. While in this position Mme. Campan wrote a treatise “De -l’Education des Femmes.” - -=Emmy Hart Willard= in 1823 founded Troy Female Seminary at Troy, N. Y., -over which she presided until 1838. =Mary Mason Lyon= established in -1836 Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, of which she was president until her -death in 1849. - -=Elizabeth Palmer Peabody= in Boston was largely instrumental in -introducing Froebel’s kindergarten system in the United States. She -likewise wrote a number of educational works. In England =Emily Anne -Shireff= was active as President of the Froebel Society of England. -=Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon=, who worked for the extension of -university education to women, aided in 1868 in establishing Girton -College, at Cambridge, England. =Anne Jemima Clough= founded in 1867 the -North of England Council for Promoting the Higher Education of Women, -and in 1875 the Newnham College for Women. - -The name of =Sophie Smith= is remembered as the founder of Smith College -at Northampton, Mass., the first woman’s college in New England; the -name of =Annie N. Meyer= as the founder of Barnard College, the woman’s -department of Columbia University in New York. - -=Marie Montessori= was the inventor of a new system of teaching. - -[Illustration] - - - NOTEWORTHY WOMEN IN WORLD LITERATURE. - -Reviewing the countless contributions women have made to literature is a -task that can be mastered only by devoting to this subject several -ponderous volumes. Whether such an attempt has even been made we are -unable to say. But the theme is so attractive that I hope that some -competent woman author may be inspired to undertake this task. What more -beautiful mission could she have than to study and analyze all the -scattered evidences of brilliant intellect, rich in imagination, deep -emotion, power of expression, soaring enthusiasm, scintillating wit, and -profound sorrow, to be found in many of the books written by women since -the days of =Sappho= and =Erinna=. - -Only fragments remain of the beautiful odes, hymns and love-songs -produced by the poetesses of the classic past. But that they inspired -all Hellas and Rome we know from the testimony of the foremost authors -and critics of their time. When Meleager of Gadara, the famous sophist -and poet, selected the choicest poems of his predecessors and wove them -into that delicious “Garland,” to be hung outside the gate of the -Gardens of the Hesperides, he did not forget Sappho, because “though her -flowers were few, they were all roses.” And a critic, writing five -hundred years after Erinna’s death, speaks of still hearing her -swan-note clear above the jangling chatter of the jays, and of still -thinking those three hundred hexameter verses sung by this girl of -nineteen in “The Distaff” as lovely as the loveliest of Homer. There is -also a report, that =Corinna=, a native of Tanagra, in Bœotia, won five -times in poetical contests the prize in competition with Pindar, the -greatest lyric poet of Greece. - -With greater kindness fate treated the works of =Alphaizuli=, a Moorish -poetess, who lived in Seville during the 8th Century A. D. Of her, who -was called “the Arabian Sappho,” two volumes of excellent verses are -preserved in the library of the Escurial. Likewise =Labana= and =Leela=, -two Moorish poetesses, were famous throughout beautiful Andalusia during -the 10th and the 13th Century. Of =Valada=, the daughter of the Moorish -King Almostakeph, of Corduba, her contemporaries report that she several -times contended with scholars noted for their eloquence and knowledge, -and quite often bore away the palm. - -That such contests were held in great favor by learned ladies, appears -from the institution of those famous poetical festivals known as “Jeux -Floraux” or Floral Games. They are said to have been established in the -11th or the 12th Century by a gay company of French minstrels, called -“the seven troubadours.” But in time they had become forgotten. It is -due to =Clemence Isaure=, a poetess born in 1464 at Toulouse, that these -festivals were renewed. Fixing the first of May as the day of these -Floral Games, she invited all poets and poetesses to participate in -peaceful contest, assigning as prizes for the victors five different -flowers, wrought in gold and silver. There was an amaranth of gold for -the best ode; a silver violet for a poem of from sixty to one hundred -Alexandrine lines; a silver eglantine for the best prose composition; a -silver marigold for an elegy, and a silver lily for a hymn. - -These contests have been held in Toulouse through all the centuries. -They were recognized by the French Government in 1694, and confirmed by -letters-patent from the king. Some twenty-five years ago they were -likewise introduced into Germany, and held first in Cologne. - -The brilliant age of the Renaissance produced several women writers and -poets, whose works are still read. The literary annals of Italy shine -with such illustrious names as =Cassandra Fidelis=, the Venetian; -=Veronica Gambara=, of Brescia; =Lucia Bertana=, of Bologna; =Tarquenia -Molza=, of Modena; =Gaspara Stampa=, of Padua; and the great =Vittoria -Colonna=, of Marino, whose sonnets as well as her beauty and virtues -were extolled by all contemporaries. - -In Spain =Marianne de Carbajal= and =Maria de Zayas=, during the 17th -Century, the classic period of Spanish literature, became the pride of -their country. - -In France =Marguerite d’Angouleme= wrote a delightful book, “the -Heptameron,” similar in plan to the famous “Decamerone” by Boccaccio. In -the middle of the 16th Century =Louise Labbé=, known in French -literature as “La belle cordière,” produced her “Debat de Folie et -d’Amour,” a work full of wit, originality and beauty. Erasmus and La -Fontaine were both indebted to it; the former for the idea of “The -Praise of Folly,” and the latter for “L’Amour et la Folie.” In truth, La -Fontaine’s poem is only a versification of the prose story of Louise -Labbé. - -Of the illustrious French women, who during the 16th, 17th and 18th -Centuries made their “salons” the gathering-places for men and women of -letters, several became widely known for their own poems and works of -fiction. As for instance =Madeline de Scudéry=, =Anne de Seguier=, -=Claudine de Tencin=, =Madame de la Sabliére=, =Madeline de Souvré=, and -=Anne Dacier=, of whom Voltaire said, that no woman ever rendered -greater services to literature. - -[Illustration: - - A FLORAL GAME DURING THE 14TH CENTURY. - - After a painting by F. Padilla. -] - -In the literature of the 19th Century =Anne Louise Germaine Necker, -Baroness de Stael-Holstein=, held a singular position. Many of her -contemporaries exalted her as “the founder of the romantic movement” who -gave “ideas” to the world. To-day she is almost forgotten, and her -novels and plays, among them “Corinne” and “Sophie and Jane Grey” lie -undisturbed and dusty on the library shelves. - -Perhaps her most remarkable contribution to literature was her book -“L’Allemagne,” which was announced in 1810. It gave a most intelligent -exposition of the science, literature, arts, philosophy, and other -characteristics of the Germans, gathered from the author’s own -observations. The work, written with a spirited independence, quite at -variance with the deadening political influence of Napoleon, irritated -the emperor to such a degree that he ordered the minister of police to -seize and destroy the whole edition of 10,000 copies. Besides this he -exiled the author from France. When, after the overthrow of Napoleon, -she returned to Paris, she had her book printed again, and had the -satisfaction of seeing it eagerly read by millions of Frenchmen. - -Of all French authoresses of the 19th Century =Armantine Lucile Aurore -Dudevant=, or “=George Sand=,” holds the supreme rank. In the long line -of her thoughtful, concentrated and meditative novels “Valentine,” -“Indiana,” “Lelia,” “Mauprat,” and “Le Meunier d’ Angibault” are real -gems of fiction, whose influence can be traced in many later works by -writers of France and other nations. - -Of her contemporaries =Louise Révoil Colet=, =Eugenie de Guérin=, -=Pauline de la Ferronay Craven=, and, above all, =Delphine de Girardin= -must be mentioned, whose “Letters Parisiennes” as well as her poems, -novels, dramas and comedies belong to the most excellent productions of -the 19th Century. By her dramatic pieces “L’Ecole des Journalistes,” -“Judith,” “Cleopatra,” “C’est la faute du mari,” “Lady Tartufe,” and -others she reaped a wide popularity. In the literary society of her time -she exercised no small personal influence. Balzac, Alfred de Musset, -Gautier, and Victor Hugo were among the frequenters of her salon. - - * * * * * - -Among the British woman writers of the latter part of the 18th Century -=Jane Austen= was the most distinguished. Her novels “Sense and -Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Emma,” “Northanger Abbey” and -“Persuasion” have been likened to the carefully-executed paintings of -the Dutch masters for their charming pictures of quiet, natural life. - -=Ann Ward Radcliffe= wrote three novels unsurpassed of their kind in -English literature: “The Romance of the Forest,” “The Mysteries of -Udolpho,” and “The Italian.” They are distinguished for originality, -ingenuity of plot, fertility of incident, and skill in devising -apparently supernatural occurrences capable of explanation by human -agency and natural coincidence. - -=Mary Russell Mitford= edited several volumes of sketches of rural -character and scenery, delightful and finished in style, and unrivalled -in her manner of description. It is by these sketches of English life -that she obtained the greatest share of her popularity. She wrote also -an opera called “Sadak and Kalasrade,” and four tragedies, “Julian,” -“Foscari,” “Rienzi,” and “Charles the First.” All were successful; -“Rienzi,” in particular, long continued a favorite. - -=Elizabeth Inchbald’s= two novels “The Simple Story” and “Nature and -Art,” have long ranked among standard works. Besides novels she wrote a -number of dramas, some of which were very successful. - -=Maria Edgeworth= published a new work almost every year from the -beginning of the 19th Century to 1825. The novels “Castle Rackrent,” -“Belinda,” “Vivian.” “Harrington and Ormond,” and many others followed -each other rapidly, and all were welcomed and approved by the public. -Her best and last work of fiction, “Helen,” appeared in 1834. - -=Mary Shelley=, the wife of the famous poet Percy Shelley, is renowned -as the author of the romances “Frankenstein,” “Valperga, or the Life and -Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca”; “Falkner”; “Lodore,” and -“The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck.” A most peculiar work is “The Last -Men,” a fiction of the final agonies of human society owing to the -universal spread of pestilence. - -Among the dramatists of the 19th Century =Joanna Baillie= was the -foremost. In her “Plays of Passion” she illustrates each of the deepest -and strongest passions of the human mind, such as Hate, Love, Jealousy, -Fear, by a tragedy and a comedy. Other dramas were “The Family Legend”; -“Henriquez”; “The Separation,” and other plays, which show remarkable -power of analysis, and observation. They are all written in vigorous -style. - -Of the numerous novelists of the 19th Century =Charlotte Bronté= was -received with universal delight. Her novels “Jane Eyre,” “Shirley” and -“Villette” have all the vigor and individuality of poetic genius. She -was “a star-like soul, whose genius followed no tradition and left no -successors.” - -=Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell= will be remembered for her intensely -interesting books “Mary Barton,” “North and South,” the exquisitely -humorous “Cranford,” and “Cousin Phyllis,” which has been fitly called -an idyll in prose. - -The prolific =Catherine Grace Gore= gives in the novels “The Banker’s -Wife,” “Cecil, or the Adventures of a Coxcomb,” “Greville,” and -“Ormington,” masterful pictures of the life and pursuits of the English -upper classes. - -=Caroline Elizabeth Norton=, after having given in her novel “The -Undying One” a version of the legend of the Wandering Jew, became in her -book “A voice from the Factories” a most eloquent priestess of reforms. -She condemned especially child labor, the darkest blot on the social -conditions of England. - -In the middle of the 19th Century =Mary A. Evans= became famous under -her nom de plume “=George Eliot=.” Having translated in 1844 David -Strauss’ brilliant work “Das Leben Jesu,” and Spinoza’s “Ethics,” she -published in 1858 her novel “Adam Bede,” which placed her at once in the -front rank of modern authors. Her later novels “The Mill on the Floss,” -“Silas Marner,” “Romola” and “Felix Holt” proved so many contributions -to her fame. - -In recent times the works of =Mary Edgeworth=, =Charlotte R. Lenox=, -=Anne M. Fielding Hall=, =Mary Braddon=, =Elizabeth Sheppard=, =Louise -de la Ramée= (Ouida), =Matilde Blind=, =Anna Seward= and =Charlotte M. -Younge= have won much appreciation. - -Of the woman-authors born in Scotland, =Margaret Oliphant= wrote -“Chronicles of Carlingford” and the charming novels “Merkland”; “The -Quiet Heart”; “Zaidee,” all of which are exquisite delineations of -Scottish life and character. Another Scottish woman-author deserving of -mention is =Mary Ferrier=, whose novels “Marriage,” “The Inheritance,” -and “Destiny” breathe much originality and humor. - -Of the Irish novelists =Julia Kavanagh= and =Margaret Hamilton -Hungerford= must be mentioned, the former for her volumes “French Women -of Letters”; and “English Women of Letters,” as well as for her novels -“Adele”; “The Pearl Fountain”; “Sibyl’s Second Love”; and “Daisy Burns.” -Marg. Hungerford’s novel “Molly Brown” has been much admired. - -=Mary Augusta Ward=, born in Tasmania, became favorably known through -her principal novel “Robert Elsmere,” which delineates effectively the -modern spiritual unrest and attempts to proclaim an ideal religion. - -Another noteworthy author of Tasmania is =Louisa Anne Meredith=. - -England has of course also a long roll of able poetesses, among them -=Sarah Flower Adams=, who wrote the beautiful hymn “Nearer, My God, to -Thee.” =Alison Cockburn=, =Anne Barnard= and =Caroline Oliphant= are the -authors of many fine Scotch songs and ballads, among them the famous -poems “Flowers of the Forest” and “Auld Robin Gray.” - -In recognition of the grace and delicacy of her lyrics =Elizabeth -Barrett Browning= has been called “the most distinguished poet of her -sex that England ever produced,” but at the same time “the most -unreadable.” Her fame rests chiefly on her “Drama of Exile,” the “Casa -Guidi Windows,” and “Aurora Leigh.” The latter is a social epic, which -contains many noble passages that give evidence of great originality and -power. - -=Sarah Coleridge= has been much admired for the gracefulness and the -beautiful language of her poems “Phantasmion, a Fairy Tale”; “Sylvan -Stay,” and “One Face Alone.” - -The poems of =Felicia Hemans= have been the result of a fine imagination -and temperament, and of a life spent in romantic seclusion. Many of -them, as for instance “Homes of England,” “The Treasures of the Deep,” -“The Better Land,” and “The Wreck” rank among the best ever produced. - -=Adelaide Ann Proctor=, =Catherine Fowler Philips=, =Christina Rosetti=, -=Mary Blackford Tighe=, and =Caroline Oliphant= have been the -authoresses of many poems, still cherished for their beauty and nobility -of thought. - -The United Kingdom has also several woman historians, among them -=Catharine Macaulay=, whose “History of England,” in six volumes, -appeared in 1763. - -The love and reverence she was taught from childhood to cherish for the -queens of her country induced =Miss Agnes Strickland=, of Roydon Hall, -Suffolk, to write her great work “The Lives of the Queens of England.” -Its twelve volumes appeared at intervals from 1840 till 1848. In 1850 -she began to publish a similar series about the “Lives of the Queens of -Scotland,” completing it in eight volumes in 1859. Unresting in her -industry, she wrote likewise “The Lives of the Last Four Stuart -Princesses,” published in 1872. - -=Harriet Martineau= too deserves an honorable place among English women -of letters. Her series of tales designed as “Illustrations of Political -Economy” and “Illustrations of Taxation” brought her at once into great -prominence. Later on she produced an amazing quantity of works, relating -to the laws of man’s nature and development, mesmerism, travel, and -other subjects. - - * * * * * - -In American literature woman’s activity began with =Anne Bradstreet=, -the daughter of Governor Bradstreet of Massachusetts. To him she -dedicated the first volume of poetry published on the Western -hemisphere. Printed in 1642, it had the somewhat verbose title: “Several -Poems, compiled with great variety of wit and learning, full of delight; -wherein especially is contained a complete discourse and description of -the four elements, constitutions, ages of man, seasons of the year, -together with an exact epitome of the three first monarchies, viz.: the -Assyrian, Persian, Greecian, and Roman Commonwealth, from the beginning -to the end of their last king, with divers other pleasant and serious -poems. By a Gentlewoman of New England.” Three editions of this -collection appeared. - -Of several poems, directed to her husband, we give the following lines: - - “If ever two were one, then surely we; - If ever man were loved by wife, then thee; - If ever wife were happy in a man, - Compare with me, ye women, if ye can!” - -=Hannah Adams=, born in 1755, was the first American woman who made -literature her profession. Interested in religious controversy she -compiled a “View of Religions,” in three parts. After that she wrote -“Evidences of Christianity,” a “History of the Jews,” and a “History of -New England.” As far as pecuniary matters went, she was, however, -singularly unsuccessful, probably from her want of knowledge of -business, and ignorance in worldly matters. At the time when she was -engaged in compiling her books, so rare were woman-writers in America, -that she was looked upon as one of the wonders of her age. - -In 1790 appeared a novel, “Charlotte Temple,” a story of love, betrayal, -and desertion, by =Mrs. Susanna Haswell Rowson=, a book of which more -than a hundred editions are known. - -With the beginning of the 19th Century the number of American -authoresses increased rapidly. =Catharine= and =Susan Sedgwick= wrote -their “New England Tales,” which were received with such favor, that -Catharine in 1824 published a novel in two volumes, entitled “Redwood,” -a work which met with great success, was republished in England, and -translated into French and Italian. It was followed by a large number of -other novels, which were greatly appreciated for their purity of -language and grace of style. - -Somewhat later =Lydia Maria Child= developed as one of the first and -foremost progressive writers. Having commenced her literary life with -“Hobomok, a Story of the Pilgrims,” she later on devoted herself to the -cause of woman and the abolition of slavery. She wrote a “History of -Woman,” which was followed in 1833 by a strong “Appeal for that Class of -Americans Called Africans,” the first anti-slavery work ever printed in -book form in America. In 1841 she moved to New York and assisted her -husband in editing “The National Anti-Slavery Standard.” - -As is very generally known, her contemporary, =Harriet Beecher Stowe=, -too, was interested in the question of abolition. In 1850 she wrote for -the “National Era,” an anti-slavery paper, a serial entitled “Uncle -Tom’s Cabin.” When this novel was republished in book form it met with -tremendous success. In the United States between 300,000 and 400,000 -copies were sold within three years, and the printing press had to run -day in and out to meet the demand. In Europe the book was devoured with -the same deep interest. There are thirty-five different editions in -English, and translations in at least twenty different languages. As the -novel was also dramatized in various forms, it became a great factor in -the abolishment of slavery. - -Of the later stories by Mrs. Stowe “The Minister’s Wooing,” a tale of -New England life in the latter part of the 18th Century, has been -pronounced to be her best. But her reputation, while it lasts, will rest -chiefly upon “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” - -=Sarah Margaret Fuller= too belongs to those authors who espoused the -cause of woman’s rights. In “The Dial,” a little quarterly journal, the -organ of the transcendentalists and of the famous community at Brook -Farm, she first published “The Great Lawsuit.” It formed the nucleus of -a larger volume entitled “Woman in the Nineteenth Century.” Far in -advance of the ideas of her times, it is with its noble sentiments and -valuable hints a spirited plea for the rights of the female sex. - -=Elizabeth Ellet= is favorably known for her valuable work “The Women of -the American Revolution,” published in 1848 in three volumes. It was -followed in 1850 by the “Domestic History of the American Revolution,” -designed to give an inside view into the spirit of that period, and to -describe the social and domestic conditions of the colonists and their -feelings during the war. - -=Ann Sophia Stephens=, and =Emma D. Southworth= were likewise immensely -popular fiction writers during the first half of the 19th Century. So -was =Maria S. Cummins=, who in “The Lamplighter” achieved a success -comparable to that of Mrs. Stowe’s “Uncle Tom.” - -The many short stories and novels of =Mary Virginia Terhune=, who wrote -under the pseudonym of Marion Harland; the romances of =Harriet Prescott -Spofford=, =Miriam Coles Harris=, =Elizabeth Barstow Stoddard=, and -=Adeline Whitney=, are now almost forgotten. Also the novels of =Lydia -Sigourney= of Norwich, Connecticut, who holds the record of being one of -the most prolific female writers in America. She produced not less than -fifty-seven volumes, among them “Letters to Mothers”; “Water-Drops,” a -contribution to the temperance-cause; “Pleasant Memories in Pleasant -Lands”; “Pocahontas”; and “Traits of the Aborigines of America,” a -descriptive poem in five cantos. - -=Elizabeth Stuart Phelps= enjoyed with her “Sunny Side” and other tales -a phenomenal success. Her daughter, =Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward=, was -in her time regarded as the greatest American woman novelist, who has -most influenced the women of the United States. “The Silent Partner”; -“Hedged In”; “Dr. Zay”; “The Story of Avis” as almost all other stories -of the Phelps are laid in New England and exquisitely describe its -nature, past, and present conditions. - -=Jane Goodwin Austin=, =Rose Terry Cooke=, =Annie Trumbull Slosson=, -=Clara Louise Burnham=, =Alice Brown= and =Mary E. Wilkins Freeman= -belong also to the woman-authors whose works deal with colonial and -present-day life in the New England States. - -Of the woman-authors, who realized the possibilities of the romantic -life and history of the early settlers and pioneers, =Mary Johnston= and -=Mary Hartwell Catherwood= were the most successful. To the former we -are indebted for the romances “Prisoners of Hope,” and “To Have and to -Hold”; to the latter for the novels “The Lady of Fort St. John,” “The -White Islander,” “Old Kaskaskia,” “Lazarre” and others. - -Under the pen name of Charles Egbert Craddock =Mary Noailles Murfree= -published a series of highly interesting short stories “In the Tennessee -Mountains.” Displaying an intimate knowledge of the mountaineers of -Eastern Tennessee, and full of life, these stories attracted at once -wide attention. They were followed later on by a large number of other -novels, of which “The Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains,” “In the -Clouds,” “The Frontiersmen” and “The Storm Centre” have secured to Miss -Murfree a place of honor among present-day writers. - -=Alice French= under her well-known pen name Octave Thanet sketched in -her short stories life in Iowa and Arkansas; =Ruth McEnery Stuart= wrote -amusing stories of negro life in Louisiana. - -=Gertrude Franklin Atherton= achieved a wide reputation with her -charming romances of early Californian life, among which “The -Doomswoman” and “The Californians” are the most remarkable. Of her later -novels “The Conqueror” and “A Whirl Asunder” need to be mentioned. - -=Mary Hallock Foote=, having likewise studied the conditions of the Far -West, in her admirable stories “The Led-Horse Claim,” “Cœur d’Alene,” -and “The Chosen Valley” carries the reader into the romance of Western -mining camps and of the virgin wilderness. - -=Helen Hunt Jackson=, whose literary productions, over the signature “H. -H.,” began to attract attention about 1870, offered a truly native -flower to American literature in her poetic book “Ramona.” Intensely -alive and involving the reader in its movement, it yet contains an idyl -of singular loveliness. “Ramona,” says Helen J. Cone in an essay about -American literature, “stands as the most finished, though not the most -striking, example that what American women have done notably in -literature they have done nobly.” - -The various works of =Constance Fenimore Woolson=, a grand-niece of -Fenimore Cooper, also enjoyed general approval. In her best known -novels: “East Angels,” “Jupiter Lights,” and “Horace Chase” she attained -a high standard of excellence. - -=Frances Hodgson Burnett= created in her book “Through One -Administration” a pathetic story of the intricate political life in -Washington. Furthermore she gave in “Louisiana” and in “The Pretty -Sister of José” charming pictures of Southern conditions. - -=Mrs. Burton N. Harrison= and =Edith Wharton= delighted their many -readers with highly interesting novels and short stories of New York -City Life, full of local color. Of the former author’s works “The -Anglomaniacs,” “Golden Rod,” and “The Circle of a Century” show her -great skill in the dialogue. Of the many novels and short stories of -Miss Wharton “The House of Mirth,”, “The Greater Inclination,” -“Sanctuary,” and “Crucial Instances” are perhaps the best. - -Among the American novelists of our present days =Margaret Deland= is -without question one of the most popular. Her novels “John Ward,” -“Sidney,” “Tommy Dove,” “Philip and His Wife,” “The Wisdom of Fools,” -“Dr. Lavendar’s People,” and “The Awakening of Helen Richie” rank among -the best in American fiction. - -The literary work of =Anna Katherine Green=, =Kate Douglas Wiggins=, -=Molly Elliot Seawell=, =Ellen Glasgow=, =Mary Shipman Andrews=, =Leona -Dalrymple=, =Margaret Sherwood=, and many other woman authors, excellent -as much as it is, can only be referred to summarily. - -To enrol the names of those American women who since the days of Anne -Bradstreet have expressed their thoughts and emotions in poetry, would -be a task far exceeding the limits of this volume. Confining ourselves -to the most noteworthy, we mention first the sisters =Alice= and =Phœbe -Cary=. Among their many splendid poems and novels “Hualco, a Romance of -the Golden Age of Tezcuco,” is founded upon adventures of a young -Mexican chief, as related by several Spanish historians of the time of -the conquest. Of Alice Cary exist several hymns, one of which is almost -a classic in the purity of its sentiment. - -The poetic spirit of =Julia Ward Howe= found expression in “Passion -Flowers” (1854) and “Lyrics” (1866). Her most memorable poem is the -“Battle Hymn of the Republic,” which breathes fervent patriotism and -gives expression to the deep moral purpose of the Civil War. - -The poetry of =Helen Jackson= unquestionably takes rank above that of -any American woman. Emerson rated it above that of almost all American -men. Her works include simple poetry of domestic life as well as -love-poems of extraordinary intensity and imaginative fullness, -furthermore, verses showing most intimate sympathy with external nature; -and lastly, a few poems of the highest dignity and melody in the nature -of odes, such as “A Christmas Symphony” and “A Funeral March.” - -The numerous lyrics of =Elizabeth Oakes Smith=, =E. O. Kinney=, =Frances -S. Osgood=, =Anne L. Botta=, =Sarah Helen Whitman=, =Maria Lowell=, -=Harriet W. Sewall=, =Emily Judson= and many other women poets of the -last half century show a development corresponding to that traceable in -the field of American fiction. - -In recent times a large number of gifted women have contributed to the -general chorus new notes of unusual strength and beauty. Many names -deserve a place upon the honor roll; among them =Margaret J. Preston=, -=Elizabeth Allen=, =Julia Dorr=, =Mary E. Bradley=, =Nora Perry=, =Mary -C. Hudson=, =Margaret Sangster=, =Charlotte Bates=, =May Riley Smith=, -=Edna Dean Proctor=, =Elizabeth Stuart Phelps=, =Alice Wellington -Rollins=, =Edith Thomas=, =Emma Lazarus=, =Kate Osgood=, and =Ella -Wheeler Wilcox=. - -In other branches of literature, to which comparatively few women have -chosen to devote themselves, as for instance in history, several -American women have shown remarkable talent and thoroughness. - -First among these historians stands =Mrs. Mercy Otis Warren=, the same -who with Mrs. Abigail Smith Adams, the wife of President John Adams, -shared the belief that the Declaration of Independence should consider -not the freedom of man alone, but that of woman also. Having warmly -entered the contest between England and America, Mrs. Warren had -corresponded with many of the leading men of the time; these often -consulted her, and acknowledged the soundness of her judgment on many of -the important events before and after the war. The most valuable of her -writings appeared in 1805, under the title “The History of the Rise, -Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution, interspersed with -Biographical, Political, and Moral Observations.” The three volumes of -this work, dedicated to George Washington, are valuable as a true record -of the events and feelings of those great times. - -To =Martha Lamb= the citizens of the metropolis on the Hudson River are -indebted for a comprehensive “History of New York City.” =Agnes Laut= -penned a series of articles about the discovery of the farthest -Northwest. =Ellen Mackay Hutchinson= compiled with Edmund Clarence -Stedman “A Library of American Literature,” which in 1888 appeared in -ten volumes; it shows excellent judgment, knowledge and care. =Ida -Tarbell= produced among many other works a “Life of Abraham Lincoln” and -an exceedingly interesting “History of the Standard Oil Company.” -=Katherine Coman= published the “Industrial History of the United -States.” - -“A Century of Dishonor” is the title of a sensational book, written by -=Helen Hunt Jackson=, and published in 1881. During her extensive -travels in the Far West the author became deeply interested in the much -maltreated Indians. Disgusted by the shameless robberies and lawless -acts committed by many Indian Agents on the reservations, Mrs. Jackson -wrote her book, which is one of the strongest indictments ever directed -against the Government. Through this volume she succeeded in doing much -to ameliorate the unfortunate conditions of the Red Race. - -=Mrs. John A. Logan= compiled a valuable volume, entitled “The Part -taken by Women in American History.” - -Woman’s status in the laws of the forty-eight states belonging to the -United States of America has been treated by =Rose Falls Bres= in the -valuable book “The Law and the Woman,” published in 1917 at New York. - -The great movement for Women Suffrage found of course likewise its -historians. Four of the most prominent leaders and best authorities: -=Elizabeth Cady Stanton=, =Susan B. Anthony=, =Matilda Joslyn Gage=, and -=Ida Husted Harper= combined for the difficult task of collecting, -sifting, and putting together the immense mass of material. Their -“History of Woman Suffrage,” published in five huge volumes, is not only -a noble record, but at the same time a magnificent monument to women’s -courage, indefatigability and perseverance. - -A considerable number of women have also contributed to the literature -about suffrage, social culture, labor questions, and kindred subjects. -=Anna G. Spencer= produced the book “Woman’s Share in Social Culture”; -=Charlotte P. Gilman= devoted a volume to “Home” and a second volume to -“Woman and Economics”; =Alice M. Earle= described “Childlife in Colonial -Times”; =Ellen Key= gave a study of “Love and Marriage”; =Mary Eastman= -published “Woman’s Work in America”; =Olive Schreiner= wrote “Woman and -Labor,” and =Elisabeth Butler= “Woman in the Trades.” To =Jane Addams= -the world is indebted for several well written works, among them: -“Democracy and Social Ethics”; “The Spirit of Youth”; “An Ancient Evil -and a New Conscience,” and “New Ideals of Peace.” She gave a record of -her great settlement work in Chicago in her delightful book “Twenty -Years at Hull House.” - - * * * * * - -For many centuries the Germans have been known as great writers, poets -and philosophers. Perhaps no other nation has contributed so much to the -world’s literature. Before the unfortunate year of 1914 the annual -output of Germany in works of science, art, philosophy, technics and -fiction far surpassed that of any other country, even that of France, -Great Britain and America combined. - -In these contributions German women have a conspicuous share. Their -great interest in this line of activity can be traced back to the early -days of the Middle Ages, when nuns like =Hroswitha= glorified the deeds -of great emperors, or, like the =Abbess of Hohenburg=, undertook the -bold enterprise of compiling a cyclopædia of general knowledge. - -Germany had also the first periodicals for women, the earliest dating -back to 1644, much read and patronized by the members of the gentle sex. -Its title “Frauenzimmer-Gesprächspiele” (“Playful discussion for -ladies”) indicates that it was devoted exclusively to matters of the -“eternal feminine.” - -A similar periodical was “Die vernünftigen Tadlerinnen” (“The reasonable -fault-finders”), edited by Johann Christoph Gottsched, professor of -philosophy and poetry at the University at Leipzig. The most faithful of -his assistants and collaborators was his wife, known in German -literature as =Louise Adelgunde Gottschedin=. To the “Deutsche -Schaubühne,” likewise published by her husband, she contributed several -translations of French Dramas and five comedies of her own, which are -still of interest as they illustrate the manners of the time, the middle -of the 18th Century. - -=Meta Moller=, the wife of the famous poet Klopstock, =Friedericke C. -Neuber=, and =Rahel Levin=, the wife of the historian Varnhagen von -Ense, made similar use of their great literary abilities. The salon of -Mrs. Varnhagen in Berlin from 1814 to 1830 was the meeting place for the -most celebrated intellects of Germany, among them Humboldt, Fichte, -Schleiermacher, von Kleist, and Heinrich Heine. - -The great poetess =Annette von Droste-Hülshoff= (1797–1848) wrote a most -powerful novel, “Die Judenbuche”, which is based on the belief that -murderers are forced by a mysterious power to return to the scene of -their crimes. - -The prolific but now almost forgotten writers =Karoline Pichler=, -=Henriette Paalzow=, =Otilie Wildermut=, Countess =Ida Hahn-Hahn=, -=Fanny Lewald= and =Louise Mühlbach= were followed in the second part of -the 19th Century by =Eugenie John=, better known under her nom de plume -=Marlitt=. Her novels “Das Geheimniss der alten Mamsell” (“Old -Mamselle’s Secret”), “Heideprinzesschen” (“The Princess of the Moor”), -“Gold Else” (“Gold Elsie”) and others met with tremendous success and -have been in translations also enjoyed by many English and American -readers. - -With like enthusiasm the women of Germany read the novels of =Wilhelmine -Heimburg=, =Louise von Francois= (“Die letzte Reckenburgerin”) and -=Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach=. The latter is regarded as the greatest of -all modern novelists of Germany, Paul Heyse not excepted. When the -University in Vienna bestowed upon her the degree of Doctor phil. -honoris causa, the enormous body of her readers heartily rejoiced. Her -most famous novel is “Das Gemeindekind” (“The child of the Parish”). She -also published a volume of “Aphorisms.” - -=Wilhelmine von Hillern’s= once much read novel “Die Geierwally” has -been surpassed by far more valuable works of =Ilse Frapan=, =Ida -Boy-Ed=, =Helene Pichler=, =Margarete von Bülow=, =Bianca Bobertag=, -=Ossip Schubin=, =Helene Böhlau=, =Emma Vely=, =Emmy von Dinklage=, -=Dora Dunker=, =Marie von Bunsen=, =Sophie Junghans=, =Louise -Westkirch=, =Clara Blüthgen=, =Olga Wohlbrück=, =Carry Brachvogel= and a -number of other modern writers. - -Among them =Enrica von Handel-Mazetti= and =Ricarda Huch= are -distinguished by their great ability in drawing strong characters as -well as deeply affecting situations. The first of the two authors -transports her readers in the two novels “Meinrad Helmpergers -denkwürdiges Jahr” and “Jesse und Maria” to the turbulent times of the -17th and 18th Centuries, when a superstitious world was upset by cruel -warfare between Catholics and Protestants. Ricarda Huch created works of -equal value in the novels “Erinnerungen von Ludolf Urslen dem Jüngeren” -(“Reminiscences of Ludolf Urslen, Junior”), “Aus der Triumphgasse” -(“From the Alley of Triumph”) and “The Verteidigung Roms” (“The Defense -of Rome”). - -=Elizabeth von Heyking= carried the reader to the more recent times of -the Chinese Boxer War with her admirable novel “Briefe die ihn nicht -erreichten” (“Letters he did not get”). - -=Clara Viebig= belongs likewise to the great novelists of modern times. -Having manifested in her first collection of short stories, “Kinder der -Eifel” (“Children of the Eifel Plateau”), a most extraordinary gift of -observation and description, she brought this talent to full development -in her splendid novels “Rheinlandstoechter” (“Daughters of the Rhein”), -“Das schlafende Heer” (“The sleeping army”) and “Absolve te.” - -=Gabriele Reuter= treated in her novels “Aus guter Familie” (“Of good -family”), “Frau Bürgelin und ihre Söhne,” “Ellen von der Weiden,” and -“Liselotte von Reckling” various phases of the woman’s question. In the -first book she protests against the injustice created by custom and -tradition, which allows men to propose, while women are condemned to -remain silent. - -Finally we must mention the noble woman who, most intensely realizing -the deep longing of mankind for peace, with her famous book “Die Waffen -nieder!” (“Lay down your arms!”) exerted probably the greatest influence -any author ever had through a single volume: the Austrian =Bertha von -Suttner=. The powerful appeal of this great book, which was translated -into more than twenty different languages, led Alfred B. Nobel, a rich -Swedish scientist and the inventor of dynamite, to bequeath the annual -interest of his great fortune to whoever has contributed most to the -peaceful progress of mankind during the year immediately preceding. It -was not more than just that the great merit of Madame von Suttner was -acknowledged by awarding to her in 1905 the Nobel Prize for peace. - -Having devoted her whole life to the cause of peace, Bertha von Suttner -died in June, 1914, while engaged in preparations for an International -Peace Congress to be held in September of that same year in Vienna. Fate -spared her the bitter disappointment to see the outbreak of the most -cruel and destructive war in history. But her call “Lay down your arms!” -will live. It will remain the watchword and summons of all who with this -high-priestess of peace believe that war is the most unreasonable and -most criminal act men can commit. - -Of course, German women have also contributed to the literature about -the woman’s question. Perhaps the most valuable work in this line is -=Dr. Kaethe Schirmacher’s= book “Die moderne Frauenbewegung,” giving a -history of the woman’s rights movement in all countries of the world. As -there has been no English book covering this broad subject, it was -translated by =C. C. Eckhardt= and in 1912 published at New York under -the title “The Modern Woman’s Rights Movement.” - - * * * * * - -Rich as German literature is in prose works of women writers, its poems -and lyrics written by women are no less noteworthy. There can be no -doubt that many of the beautiful folk songs of the Middle Ages were -created by women. For instance the following was discovered in a -collection of songs of the 13th Century, compiled by the nuns of a -convent at Blaubeuren, Bavaria: - - Kume, kum, geselle min, - ih enbite harte din, - ih enbite harte din, - kume, kum, geselle min! - - Süsser rosen-varmer munt, - kum und mache mich gesunt, - kum und mache mich gesunt, - süsser rosen-varmer munt! - -That women took deep interest in folk-songs we know from the fact that -several of the most valuable collections of mediæval songs came down to -us through women like Clara Haetzler, a nun in Augsburg, and Katharine -Zell. The latter states that these lovely poems were sung by workmen and -vintages as well as by the mothers at the cradle, and by the servants -while they were washing the dishes. - -It is not before the 17th Century that women authors of poems begin to -write under their names. Among them we find the countesses =Anna Sophie -von Hesse-Darmstadt= (1638–1683) and =Amalia Juliane von -Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt=. The latter was the author of about six hundred -songs, of which the funeral-hymn “Wer weiss wie nahe mir mein Ende” is -sung in all Protestant churches of Germany to-day. - -The 18th Century produced a number of other women poets, among them -=Louise Adelgunde Gottsched=, =Dorothea, Countess von Zinzendorf=, =Anna -Louise Karsch=, =Sidonie Zäunemann=, and =Christine Marianne von -Ziegler=. The last two enjoyed the special patronage of the Emperor, who -bestowed upon them the title “Kayserlich gekrönte Poetinnen.” - -With the beginning of the 19th Century appeared new groups of women -poets, among them =Bettina von Arnim=, =Karoline von Günderode=, -=Elisabeth Kulmann=, =Louise Brachmann=, =Betty Paoli=, =Louise von -Ploennies= and =Adelheid von Stolterfoth=, the “Philomele of the Rhine,” -so called for her lovely songs and tales in praise of that noble river. -In 1797 one of the greatest female poets of all times was born: =Annette -von Droste-Hülshoff=, a native of Westphalia. Compelled to lead a quiet, -secluded life by the delicate state of her health, she devoted herself -to study and literature, and wrote a number of masterful ballads of -which “The Battle in Loenerbruch” has few equals in powerful and -realistic description. Her poem “Die beschränkte Frau” is one of the -gems of German poetry. - -Among the large numbers of German poets of the latter part of the 19th -and the beginning of the 20th Century =Isolde Kurz=, =Lulu von Strauss=, -=Margarete Beutler=, =Agnes Miegel=, =Tekla Lingen=, =Ricarda Huch=, -=Frieda Schanz=, =Anna Ritter=, =Hedwig Dransfeld=, =Wilhelmine -Wickenburg-Almasy=, =Hermione von Preuschen=, =Klara Müller-Jahnke=, -=Hedda Sauer=, =Maria Eugenie delle Grazie=, =Angelika von Hörmann=, -=Marie Janitschek=, =Ada Christen=, =Mia Holm=, =Alberta von -Puttkammer=, =Anna Klie=, are the names of a few of the many -distinguished poets of our present days. - -Among American women of German descent we find likewise a number of -gifted poets. The two anthologies “Deutsch in Amerika” (Chicago, 1892) -and “Vom Lande des Sternenbanners” (Ellenville, N. Y., 1905) contain -many contributions of =Dorothea Boettcher=, =Elizabeth Mesch=, =Edna -Fern=, =Amalie von Ende=, =Marianne Kuenhold=, =Maria Raible=, =Minna -Kleeberg=, =Bella Fiebing=, =Henni Hubel=, =Martha Toeplitz=, and -others, distinguished in form as well as rich in imagination and -powerful in expression. Several German-American women also became -favorably known by valuable works in prose, as for instance =Therese -Albertine Louise Jacob=, the wife of Professor Robinson, of New York. -Under the name of Talvj, she wrote historical works about Captain John -Smith and the colonization of New England, and a “Historical Review of -the Language and Literature of the Slavic Nations, with a Sketch of -their Popular Poetry.” Of her many poems and translations Goethe spoke -with great admiration. Her novels are far superior to the average in -style and interest. - - * * * * * - -In the Netherlands the novels of =Elizabeth Bekker= were extremely -popular at the end of the 18th Century. She ranks high among Dutch -authors. Her “Historie van William Levend,” the “Historie van Sara -Burgerhart,” “Abraham Blankaart” and “Cornelia Wildshut” are her -greatest works. The poems of =Agathe Dekken= are to this day esteemed -masterpieces of Dutch poetry. During the 19th Century =Mrs. -Bosboom-Toussaint’s= novels, and =Helen Swarth’s= poems “Passiebloemen” -have been widely read. - -The most eminent woman writer of Denmark was =Thomasine Kristine -Baroness Gyllembourg-Ehrensvärd=, who introduced into Danish literature -a novel vein of realism and domestic humor. Although she has had many -imitators, she is still without a rival. =Hadda Raonkilde= has exerted a -powerful influence upon Scandinavian literature. - -The two most successful women-novelists of Norway are =Anna Magdalene -Thoresen= and =Jacobine Camilla Collet=, author of the excellent novel -“Amtmandens Döttre” (“The Governor’s Daughters”). In 1894 all Norway -celebrated her eightieth birthday as a national holiday. - -The most eminent Swedish novelist of the 19th Century was =Frederika -Bremer=. Her “Sketches of Every Day Life” attracted immediate attention. -But this success was far surpassed by the novels “The H—— Family” and -“The Neighbors.” Both manifest the author’s purity, simplicity, and love -of domestic life. These books as well as almost all of the author’s -later works have been translated into English, German and French. - -Another Swedish author of note was =Anne Charlotte Edgren=. Of =Emily -Carlen’s= novels “The Rose of Thistle Island” and “The Magic Goblet” are -most appreciated. =Anna Maria Lenngren= belongs likewise to the most -popular Swedish writers. The Swedish Academy ordered a medal cast in her -honor. And of the Swedish authors of the 20th Century =Selma Lagerloef= -was in 1909 awarded the Nobel Prize for her beautiful modern saga -“Goesta Berling.” - -Finland and Poland too have noteworthy women-writers. Finland, “Country -of the thousand lakes,” was the birth-place of =Sarah Wacklin=, -=Wilhelmina Nordström= and =Helen Westermark=. The literature of Poland -was enriched by the poems and novels of =Elizabeth Jaraczewska=, =Lucya -Rautenstrauss=, =Narcyza Zwichowska= and =Comtesse Mostowska=. - -Spain has produced in modern times several remarkable woman authors: -=Gertrudis de Avellaneda=, =Maria de Pinar-Sinues=, and =Angela Grassi=. -Italy has the excellent novelists =Rosa Taddei=, =Francesca Lutti=, -=Matilda Serao=, =Grazia Pierantoni-Mancini=, =Fanny Zampini-Salazar=, -and the Marchesa =Vincenza de Felice-Lancellotti=. Furthermore =Ada -Negri=, one of the most powerful poets of all times. - - * * * * * - -Having glanced at woman’s part in world’s literature, a few words should -be said about women journalists. During the middle of the last century -the publishers of several leading newspapers of England and America, -desiring to infuse new life into their papers, added a number of women -to their staffs. The complete success of this experiment was confirmed -by the rapid increase in the number of such women journalists. Whereas -in 1845 England had only 15 of them, this number grew to more than 800 -in 1891. In the United States the number increased from 350 in 1889 to -2193 in 1910. Many of these women journalists received careful training -in the special schools of journalism at the universities of New York, -Philadelphia, and elsewhere. - -Jeannette Gilder, herself a journalist, writes about her profession: -“Woman as a mere fashion writer is a thing of the past. To-day she -expects to rank with the man writer. In the future she will expect to be -his superior, for a woman is not stationary in her ambitions, she likes -variety. A man is wedded to his old clothes. He sighs when he has to -throw aside the old and comfortably fitting coat for a new one not so -comfortably fitting. A woman sighs when she has to wear an old dress. -She would like fashions to change every week instead of every three -months, as they do now. This love for variety in personal matters is -carried into her professional life. If she reports a Salvation Army -meeting to-day she hails with glee an opportunity to report an -automobile race to-morrow. With boundless ambition, with adaptability, -energy and a pleasing style, there is nothing to keep women from -monopolizing the journalistic profession if they put their minds to it. -The only trouble is they are apt to marry and leave the ranks. But, then -there are others standing ready to fill the vacant places. In the next -hundred years why may we not see all newspapers owned by women, edited -by women, written by women, with women compositors and women pressmen. -Already there is one such in France.” - -[Illustration] - - - WOMEN IN MUSIC AND DRAMA. - -The prejudice which excluded women for centuries from the realms of -science, interfered likewise with their participation in music and art. -Up to the midst of the 19th Century almost all European conservatories -and art academies were closed to female students. Previous to 1876 no -women students of the violin were allowed at the High School in London, -and for a long time they could not compete for prizes or receive -diplomas. When =Elizabeth Sterling= presented her beautiful CXXX Psalm -for five voices and orchestra to the university at Oxford for the degree -of Mus. Bac., the degree, although the work was accepted and its merits -acknowledged, could not be given for want of power to confer this degree -upon a woman! - -As the views of publishers of music and of conductors of orchestras were -influenced by similar prejudices, nobody should wonder that women’s work -in music has shown comparatively unsatisfactory results. - -Yet, in spite of all these obstacles, there have been a number of women -composers, whose works were appreciated by all their contemporaries. -During the glorious time of the Renaissance =Francesca Caccini=, born in -1581 at Florence, was the pride of her city because of her magnificent -church music and madrigals. Compositions of =Vittoria Aleotti=, a native -of Argenta, were likewise much admired, especially her great opus, which -was published at Venice, in 1593, under the flowery title “Ghirlanda dei -Madrigali a 4 voci.” =Maddalena Casulana= of Brescia, produced also a -number of fine madrigals, which were issued in two volumes in 1568 and -1583. =Cornelia Calegari=, of Bergamo, =Barbara Strozzi=, of Venice, -belong also to the Italian composers of the Renaissance. =Maria Teresa -Agnesi=, born during the 18th Century, produced a number of cantatas, -and three operas, “Sophonisbe,” “Ciro in Armenia,” and “Nitocri,” which -were the delight of all Italy. - -In Austria at the same time appeared =Maria Teresa Paradies=, born at -Vienna in 1759. Notwithstanding her blindness, dating from her fourth -year, she had become a most remarkable pianist and composer, dictating -her cantatas and several operettas. In 1784 she set out on a concert -tour through Germany and England, everywhere exciting admiration by her -rare endowments. She often moved her audiences to tears by a cantata, -the words of which were written by the blind poet Pfeffel, in which her -own fate was depicted. During the later part of her life she presided -over an excellent musical institute in Vienna. - -In another native of Vienna, =Marianne Martinez=, the qualities of many -distinguished artists were combined. Not only did she sing beautifully, -but she was likewise an excellent pianist; her compositions showed a -vigor of conception together with extensive learning. She composed -several cantatas, and a miserere, with orchestral accompaniment. Her -oratorio “Isacca” was in 1788 produced by the Tonkuenstler Gesellschaft. -Her salons, in which she gave weekly concerts, were the rendezvous of -many musical celebrities. - -Foremost among the women-composers of Germany was =Clara Josephine -Wieck-Schumann=, the accomplished pianist and unexcelled interpreter of -her husband’s, Robert Schumann’s, splendid works. She also produced a -large number of songs of great merit, many of which have been published. - -=Francesca Lebrun=, born 1756 at Mannheim, wrote several sonatas for -piano, and trios for piano, violin and cello. =Louise Reichard=, of -Berlin, =Corona Schroeter=, the famous artist of the 18th Century, -=Fanny Cecilia Hensel=, born 1805 in Hamburg, and =Josephine Lang=, born -1815 in Munich, composed very beautiful songs. A “Suite for Pianoforte” -(Op. 2) by =Adele aus der Ohe= has likewise received highest praise. - -Among the women composers of France =Elizabeth Claude Guerre=, born at -Paris in 1669; =Edme Sophie Gail Garré=, born in 1775, and =Louise -Bertin= were the pioneers. Elizabeth Guerre’s opera “Cephale et Pœris” -was performed at the Royal Academie. She also composed a Te Deum, and a -number of cantatas. - -The most successful composer of recent years was =Cécile Louise -Stephanie Chaminade=, born at Paris in 1861. Her most ambitious -compositions are “Les Amazones,” a lyric symphony with choruses; “La -Sevillane”; “Callirhœ”; “Etude Symphonique,” and a large number of -compositions for piano, many of which became very popular. - -Of =Augusta Mary Ann Holmes=, likewise a native of Paris, the opera -“Hero et Leandre” had great success. - -Of the women composers of England =M. Virginia Gabriel= was very -popular. She wrote the cantatas “Evangeline” and “Dreamland,” and the -operettas “Grass Widows,” “Widows Bewitched” and “Who’s the Heir?” =Leza -Lehman= was the author of the song cycle “In a Persian Garden,” and of -“Nonsense Songs.” =Clara Angela Macirone’s= anthem “By the Waters of -Babylon” has been sung in all the cathedrals of Great Britain. - -=Lady Helen Dufferin= is known principally for her songs and ballads, -which, both for comic humor and pathos, rank among the best in the -English language. “The Irish Emigrant’s Lament” compares favorably with -any English lyric. =Charlotte Sainton Dolby=, =Elizabeth Mounsey= and -=Harriet Abrams= composed likewise numerous songs, and =Kate Fanny -Loder= the operette “Fleur d’Epine.” - -There exist also many splendid compositions by American women. When in -1893 the Woman’s Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago -was dedicated, =Mrs. H. A. Beach’s= “Jubilate” was received with -greatest enthusiasm. Also her “Gaelic Symphony” was played by many -famous orchestras. - -The “Dramatic Overture” (Op. 12) of =Miss Margaret Ruthven Lang= has -been frequently performed by the famous Boston Symphony Orchestra. - - * * * * * - -Of the innumerable virtuosos, who interpreted works of the above-named -composers and others, the American violinists =Arma Senkrah= and =Maud -Powell=, the Italian =Teresina Tua=, the German =Maria Soldat=, and the -South-American pianists =Terese Careno= and =Giomar Novaez=, not to -forget the Hungarian =Sophie Menter= and the Russian =Annette Essipoff= -have been the most eminent. - - * * * * * - -“Dem Mimen flicht die Nachwelt keine Kränze,” the great German poet -Schiller has said in one of his poems, pointing out that, while the -painter, sculptor, composer and writer transmit their works to remote -generations, the glory won by the actor and singer exhales with their -disappearance from the stage as quickly as does the fragrance of a -delicate flower. The record of the performer’s and singer’s gift remains -only as a tradition, as a legend. - -So it is. The majority of those actors and singers, who in bygone times -held large audiences spellbound, are forgotten. There are only few -exceptions which in the history of dramatic art and music will remain. -So for instance with the history of the English stage of the latter part -of the 17th Century the names of two great actresses are inseparably -connected: =Gwynn= and =Elizabeth Barry=. The former especially was the -darling of the people, and much favored by King Charles II. During the -following century =Anne Oldfield=, =Mary Porter=, =Elizabeth -Billington=, =Anne Spranger Barry=, =Hannah Pritchard=, =Mary Robinson=, -=Jane Pope=, =Susanne Cibber=, =Frances Abington= and =Margaret -Woffington= were celebrated for their talent, charm, and elegance. Of -=Sarah Siddons=, called “the Incomparable,” it has been reported that by -means of her excellent art as well as by her beauty, dignity and -personal distinction she reduced her audiences to an awe-struck -reverence. Edmund Gosse, in an article devoted to the memory of Sarah -Siddons says: “Under the effect she produced, women as well as men lost -all command over themselves, and sobbed, moaned, and even howled with -emotion. Young ladies used suddenly to shriek; men were carried out, -gibbering, in hysterics.” - -Of the many excellent English actresses of the 19th Century and of our -present days =Louise Nisbett=, =Mary Stirling=, =Elizabeth O’Neill=, -=Helen Faucit=, =Lillian Neilson=, =Deborah Lacy=, =Frances Kemble=, -=Adelaide Kemble-Sartoris=, =Charlotte Dolby=, =Ellen Terry=, =Gertrude= -and =Rose Coghlan= have to be mentioned. Also we must remember the great -triumphs of =Nellie Melba=, a native of Australia, but at home on the -stages and in the concert halls of Europe as well as of America. - -The United States produced likewise a number of brilliant actresses and -opera stars. Among the former were =Clara Fisher=, =Mary Vincent=, -=Laura Keene=, =Anna Gilbert=, =Anna= and =Cora Ritshie=, not to forget -=Mary Ann Dyke-Duff=, whom the elder Booth declared to be “the greatest -actress in the world.” Furthermore, there was the classic =Mary -Anderson=, who was followed later on by such eminent performers as =Ida -Conquest=, =Adelaide Phillips=, =Julia Marlowe=, =Leslie Carter=, =Maud -Adams=, and =Ethel Barrymore=. - -Our United States have been also the native land of the famous opera -stars =Minni Hauck=, =Lillian Nordica=, =Emma Eames=, =Olive Fremstadt=, -=Florence Macbeth=, =Mary Garden=, =Anna Case= and =Geraldine Farrar=. - -Germany and Austria too have produced numbers of accomplished actresses -and singers who stood high in public esteem and thrilled vast audiences -by splendid revelations of their art. The name of =Charlotte Wolter= is -forever connected with the famous Burgtheater in Vienna as the greatest -tragedienne in the history of that famous institution. To the many -actresses, whose fame is not limited to their native countries but has -extended to America as well, belong the following stars of the 19th -Century: =Marie Seebach=, =Ottilie Genee=, =Kathie Schratt=, =Hedwig -Niemann-Rabe=, =Fanny Janauschek=, =Magda Irschik=, =Anna Haverland=, -=Marie Geistinger=, =Agnes Sorma=, =Helene Odilon=, =Francisca -Ellmenreich=, =Fanny Eysolt=, =Irene Triebsch= and =Else Lehmann=. - -As stars in grand opera and concert singers the most famous of the -former century have been =Henriette Sontag=, =Pauline Lucca=, =Marie -Schroeder-Hanfstängl=, =Teresa Tietiens=, =Etelka Gerster=, =Lilli -Lehmann=, =Fanny Moran-Olden=, =Rosa Sucher=, =Amalie Materna=, =Marie -Brema=, =Katharine Klaffsky= and =Marianne Brand=. Our present -generation has paid tribute to =Milka Ternina=, =Marie Rappold=, =Alma -Gluck=, =Elene Gerhard=, =Johanna Gadski=, =Julia Culp=, =Ernestine -Schumann-Heink=, =Melanie Kurt=, =Margarete Ober=, and =Frida Hempel=. - -With the history of the French drama the names of the great tragediennes -=Elizabeth Rachel= and =Sarah Bernhardt= are inseparably connected, -while in opera =Madeline Arnould=, =Magdalene Marie Desgarcins=, =Louise -Françoise Contat=, =Marie Felicite Malibran=, =Louise Angelique Bertin=, -=Sophie Cruvelli=, =Emma Calvé=, =Lucienne Breval=, =Felia Litvinne= and -=Desiré Artot= have been stars of the first order. - -Italy gave birth to the famous actresses and singers =Guilia Grisi=, -=Marietta Alboni=, =Angelica Catalani=, =Adelaide Ristori=, =Eleonora -Duse=, =L. Scalchi=, =Louisa Tetrazzina=, and =Amelia Galli-Curci=. - -Poland had her superb =Helena Modjeska= and =Marcella Sembrich=; Bohemia -the marvelous =Emmy Destinn=. - -Sweden treasures the memory of =Jenny Lind= and =Christine Nilsson= as -superlative artists. Jenny Lind was called “the Swedish Nightingale,” -and was famous for her great charm as well as for her musical gifts. Her -splendid tour in America under the management of P. T. Barnum in 1849 -was one of the greatest artistic and financial triumphs ever achieved by -one single artist. - -A somewhat international position has been held by the famous =Adelina -Patti=, born in 1843 at Madrid, as the daughter of a Sicilian tenor and -the Spanish Signora Barilli. Taught singing by the Moravian Maurice -Strakosch, she commanded an unusually high soprano of rich bell-like -tone and remarkable evenness, and was equally at home in the tenderness -of deep passion and the sprightly vivacity of comedy, and in oratorio. -For these reasons she has been regarded as one of the greatest singers -of all times. That her reputation was founded on her rare qualities, is -best shown by the testimony of two of her fellow-artists, Marcella -Sembrich and Lilli Lehmann. The former expressed her admiration in the -words: “When one speaks of Patti one speaks of something that occurred -only once in the history of the world.” The latter, famous in a totally -different school of her art, wrote the following lines: “In Adelaine -Patti everything was united—the splendid voice, paired with great talent -for singing. All was absolutely good, correct and flawless, the voice -like a bell that you seemed to hear long after the singing had ceased.” - -[Illustration] - - - WHAT WOMEN HAVE ACCOMPLISHED IN ART. - -As is familiar to every student of the classic past the Greeks and -Romans hailed a female deity, Pallas Athene, or Minerva, as the -protectress of their arts and industries. She was believed to have -invented spinning, weaving, embroidering, painting, and every other -handicraft that has brought mankind comfort and happiness. - -Of course this goddess had many eager women disciples. There was hardly -any Greek or Roman woman without a thorough command of the above named -crafts. Since the days of Homer, who praised Penelope, the beautiful -wife of Ulysses, for her skill in tapestry-weaving, all women devoted -themselves to useful arts. In Ephesus Pliny admired a picture of Diana, -painted by =Timarata=, the gifted daughter of an able artist. He also -praises =Laya= for her excellent miniature portraits on ivory, which -were held in great favor by the rich ladies of Rome. The names of -several other female artists are known, but unfortunately none of their -works have come down to us. - -Enthusiastic authors of the Middle Ages glorify =Agnes, Abbess of -Quedlinburg=, for her great skill in illuminating manuscripts with -figures, beautiful initial letters and elaborate border ornaments, which -she enriched with all the splendor of color and gilding. - -It was only natural, that the magnificent works of art, produced by -Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Correggio, Tintoretto and other -great masters of the Italian Renaissance, inspired the women who came in -daily contact with these men; especially their daughters, many of whom -inherited their fathers’ enthusiasm for beauty and art. Constantly -witnessing the origin and progress of the products of their fathers’ -genius, it could not fail that such women likewise devoted themselves to -art. As did =Lavinia Fontana=, the daughter of Prospero Fontana of -Bologna, whom Michael Angelo recommended to Pope Julius III., in whose -service he remained for many years. Lavinia was born in Rome in 1552. -Inspired by her father’s art, she too won great fame. The old patrician -palaces of Rome, Bologna, and other Italian cities still contain many -portraits of beautiful women and illustrious men, who once were among -her sitters. She likewise painted various other works which show great -care and delicacy. - -Among her most admired works are a Venus, now in the Museum at Berlin; -the Virgin lifting a veil from the sleeping infant Christ, now in the -Escurial; and the Queen of Sheba visiting Solomon. Her masterpiece, -however, is her own portrait, which shows her in all her radiant beauty. - -=Sofonisba Anguisciola=, born in 1533 at Cremona, likewise ranks high -among the foremost portrait painters of the 16th Century. On -recommendation of the Duke of Alba, Philippe II., King of Spain, invited -her to his court in Madrid, where she was received with extraordinary -honors. Here she painted numerous portraits of the king as well as of -the queen, the infantas and the members of the court. A few specimens of -her art are still to be seen in the Escurial at Madrid and at Florence. -Van Dyck acknowledged himself more benefited by her than by his study of -all other masters. - -=Marietta Tintoretto=, born in 1560, a daughter of the great Venetian -artist Jacopo Robusti, commonly called Tintoretto, was one of the most -appreciated portrait painters in the “Queen City of the Adriatic.” She -was so favorably known for the beauty of her work and the exactness of -resemblance that she was solicited by Emperor Maximilian as well as by -Philippe II., King of Spain, to visit their courts. But her affectionate -attachment to her father was so great that she declined these honors, -and remained in Venice, where she died in 1590. - -The 17th Century likewise produced a number of excellent women artists. -Bologna, the birth-place of so many famous men and women, was also the -native town of =Elizabeth Sirani=, who, born in 1638 to Gian Andrea -Sirani, a painter of some reputation, attracted attention to her -attempts at drawing when scarcely more than an infant. Her rare talents -developed as she grew older. Before she had attained her eighteenth -year, she had finished several paintings, which were greatly admired and -given places of honor in various churches. Her most admired work, a -Lord’s Supper, grand in conception, is in the church of the Certosini, -and is considered one of the best examples of the Bolognesian School of -art. Unfortunately this promising woman died suddenly when only -twenty-seven years of age. - -=Rosalba Carriera=, a Venetian, born in 1675, became famous over all -Europe for her admirable miniature- and crayon- or pastel-portraits, -which, through her, became the fashion of the 18th Century. - -Among the Dutch artists of the 17th Century =Maria van Osterwyck= and -=Rachel Ruisch= excelled in painting flowers and fruits. =Elisabeth -Cheron=, a French woman, born in Paris in 1648, was famous for her -miniatures and historical subjects. - -England too had some fine women artists: =Mary Beale=, born 1632 in -Suffolk, and =Anne Killigrew=, born in London. Both are known for -excellent portraits of notable persons. The National Portrait Gallery in -London contains for instance Mary Beale’s portraits of King Charles II., -of the Duke of Norfolk, and of Cowley. - -[Illustration: - - MARIE S. LEBRUN WITH HER DAUGHTER. - - After her own painting. -] - -The 18th Century produced two women artists, who were among the leaders -of their time: =Angelica Kauffmann= and =Marie LeBrun=. Angelica -Kauffmann, the daughter of an artist, was born in 1740 at Coire in -Switzerland, from where she went later on to Italy, to study the great -masters. In 1765 she came to London. Here she painted many excellent -portraits as well as numerous classic and allegorical subjects. In 1781 -she returned to Italy. Here she was always much feted and admired for -her talents as well as for her personal charm. Goethe, who met Angelica -Kauffmann in Rome, admired her works very much. “No living painter,” so -he wrote in a letter, “excels her in dignity or in the delicate taste -with which she handles the pencil.” And Raphael Mengs, one of the most -brilliant artists of the Rococo, praised her in the following words: “As -an artist Angelica Kauffmann is the pride of the female sex in all times -and all nations. Nothing is wanting; composition, coloring, fancy, all -are here.” When she died in November, 1807, she was honored by a -splendid funeral under the direction of Canova. The entire Academy of -St. Luke at Rome with numerous ecclesiastics and virtuosi followed her -funeral train and, as at the burial of Raphael, two of her latest -paintings were carried behind her coffin in the procession. - -Of =Madame LeBrun=, who was born in 1755 in France, it has been said -that “a more ideal artist never lived.” The well-known portrait of -herself and her daughter has been termed “the tenderest of all -pictures.” She also painted several portraits of the unfortunate Queen -Marie Antoinette. The Louvre has one of her best paintings: “Peace -bringing back Abundance.” - -Madame LeBrun was one of the most prolific artists of all times. In her -autobiography, entitled “Souvenirs,” she states that she finished six -hundred and sixty-two portraits, fifteen large compositions, and two -hundred landscapes, the latter sketched during her travels in -Switzerland and England. - -During the 18th Century Germany was the scene of the greatest activity -of women artists. France held the second place and Italy the third, thus -reversing the conditions of preceding centuries. Flanders and Antwerp -too were famous for women artists, some of whom went to other countries -where they were recognized for their talent and attainments. - -The most famous woman artist of the 19th Century was =Rosa Bonheur=, -born in 1832 at Bordeaux, the daughter of Raymond Bonheur, an artist of -merit. From him she received her first instructions. In 1841 she began -exhibiting in the Paris Salon, with several small animal paintings, -indicating the direction in which she was to attain her future eminence. -Her great success in painting animals was due to her conscientious study -of living subjects. One of her masterpieces, “Plowing with Oxen,” ranks -among the gems of the Luxembourg. Another excellent painting, “The Horse -Fair,” was the chief attraction of the Paris Salon in 1853, and later on -became the property of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Of all -animal paintings ever executed, this one is perhaps the most animated, -and the best in composition as well as in color. Another canvass, -“Horses Threshing Corn,” shows the same merits. Containing ten horses in -full life size, it is the largest animal picture ever produced. - -[Illustration: - - THE HORSE FAIR. - - After the painting by Rosa Bonheur in the New York Metropolitan Museum - of Art. -] - -Another painting, “The Monarch of the Glen,” received much praise at the -World’s Columbian Exposition. - -In just appreciation of her genius Rosa Bonheur was proposed in 1853 for -the Cross of the Legion of Honor, but because of her sex the decoration -was withheld until 1865.— - -One of the four daughters of an early German pioneer of California, who -distinguished themselves in different lines of activity, =Anne Elizabeth -Klumpke= followed in the footsteps of Rosa Bonheur, of whom she became a -close friend, and who, in appreciation of her great talent, bequeathed -to her her beautiful chateau as well as her entire fortune. - -The second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th Century -produced a surprising abundance of women artists, some of whom gained -the most coveted prizes and medals offered by the great annual -exhibitions in Paris, London, Berlin, Munich and other centers of art. -Clara Erskine Clemens in her book “Women in the Fine Arts” has compiled -notes about several hundred of them, without enumerating them all. To -mention a few of the most excellent, we name of the German artists -=Louise Parmentier Begas=, =Tina Blau=, =Dora Hitz=, =Lucia von Gelder=, -=Herminie von Janda=, =Countess Marie Kalckreuth=, =Minna Stock=, =Toni -Stadler=, =Frieda Ritter=, =Margarethe von Schack=, =Vilma Parlaghy=, -and =Margarethe Waldau=. - -Italy names among its best modern painters =Alceste Campriani=, =Ada -Negri=, =Juana Romani=, =Erminia de Sanctis=, and =Clelia Bompiani=. - -The French extol the genius of =Louise Labé=, =Marceline -Desbordes-Valmore= and =Louise Ackermann=. - -Belgium and Holland number among their women artists =Therese -Schwartze=, =Adele Kindt= and =Henriette Ronner=; Spain points with -pride to the works of =Fernanda Frances y Arribas=, =Adele Gines= and -=Antonia de Banuelos=. Denmark’s famous artist, =Elizabet Jerichau -Baumann=, is remembered especially for her magnificent painting -“Christian Martyrs in the Catacombs”; Switzerland has two portraitists -of the first order, =Louise Catherine Breslau= and =Aimée Rapin=, while -Russia produced in =Marie Bashkirttseff= an artist of rare ability. - -Perhaps in no other country is the number of female artists so large as -in England. We will name only a few of them. =Laura Alma Tadema= was the -gifted daughter of the famous artist Laurenz Alma Tadema. =Margaret -Sarah Carpenter= won wide reputation as a gifted portrait painter. -=Ethel Wright’s= beautiful painting “The Song of the Ages” belongs to -the best examples of English art. =Clara Montalba= is favorably known -for her splendid scenes of Venice, and landscapes of the Adriatic -coasts. =Elizabeth Thompson= demonstrated by many excellent sketches and -pictures that women are not afraid to make a specialty of battle scenes. - -Ambitious American women are likewise hard at work gaining honor and -laurels in the various fields of art. The morning promises fair, as -there are already many shining names upon the scroll. To begin with one -of the middle of the last century, we mention =Cornelia Adele Facett=, -whose chief work, “The Election Commission in Open Session,” contains -258 portraits of men and women, prominent in the political, literary, -scientific and social circles of their time. It adorns the Senate -Chamber in the Capitol at Washington. - -The most brilliant woman artist of the United States is without question -=Cecilia Beaux=, a Philadelphian, who, as a portrait painter, compares -with the very best of any nation. Her portrait of a “Girl in White,” -owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, verifies what a -critic said about her: “Miss Beaux has approached the task of painting -the society woman of to-day, not as one to whom this type is known only -by exterior, but with a sympathy as complete as a similar tradition and -artistic temperament will allow. Thus she starts with an advantage -denied to all but a very few American portrait painters, and this -explains the instinctive way in which she gives to her pictured subjects -an air of natural ease and good breeding.” - -=Sadie Waters=, born in St. Louis, produced a number of religious -paintings, her best and largest showing the Madonna in a bower of roses. - -=Violet Oakley= of New Jersey had a prominent part in decorating the new -Capitol at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, one of the most elaborate and -costly public buildings in America. The mural painting “The Romance of -the Founding of the State” in the Governor’s room is her work. - -=Anna Mary Richards= excelled as a marine painter. Her large canvass -“The Wild Horses of the Sea” has been especially admired. - -=Anny Shaw=, =Grace Hudson=, =Lucie Fairchild Fuller=, =Mary Cassatt=, -and =Matilde Lotz= are among the latest women artists of America, -favorably known for many creditable works. - - * * * * * - -Although comparatively few women have devoted themselves to sculpture, -there are several among them well worth mentioning. - -The first female sculptor of whom anything is known, was =Sabina von -Steinbach=, a daughter of Erwin von Steinbach, the famous architect of -the magnificent cathedral at Strassburg, in Alsace. After the southern -portal of this minster had been erected, Sabina adorned it with the -statues of the apostles, one of which, that of John, held in his hands a -scroll with the following inscription: - - “Gratia divinæ pietatis adesto Savinæ, - De petra dura per quam sum facta figura.” - “The grace of God be with thee, O Sabina, - Whose hands from this hard stone have formed my image.” - -Nothing further is known about this artist of the end of the 13th -Century. - -=Properzia de Rossi= was an Italian woman sculptor, born near the end of -the 15th Century at Bologna or Modena. The first-named city cherishes -still a number of her works, among them a fine marble statue of Count -Guido de Pepoli, and several figures that adorn the three gates of the -facade of St. Petroneus. Vasari in his biographies of celebrated artists -calls her “a virtuous maiden, possessing every merit of her sex, -together with science and learning all men may envy.” And when she died -in 1530, the following epitaph was written in her praise: - - Fero splendor di due begit occhi accrebbe - Gia marmi a marmi; e stupor nuovo e strano - Ruvidi marmi delicta mano - Fea dianzi vivi, ahi! morte invidia n’ebbe. - -In modern Germany =Anna von Kahle=, =Marie Schlafhorst=, =Dora Beer=, -=Helene Quitmann=, =Henny Geyer Spiegel= and =Lilly Finzelberg= have -done much excellent work. - -In France several statues by =Jeanne Hasse=, a Parisian, have been -purchased by the government and presented to various provincial museums. - -In England =Mary Thornycroft=, daughter and pupil of John Francis, the -sculptor, has won the praise of the severest critics. - -In America =Annie Whitney’s= statue of “Lady Godiva” as well as her -“Africa” and “Roma” have been much praised. - -=Helen Farnworth Mears= is well known for her “Fountain of Life.” -=Vinnie Ream Hoxie= modelled a life-size statue of Lincoln, which stands -in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington. A statue of Farragut in -Farragut Square is by the same artist. - -Another American woman sculptor of renown was =Harriet Hosmer=, born in -1830 in Watertown, Mass. Having received her first instruction in Boston -and St. Louis, she went to Rome in 1852 where she became a pupil of -Gibson. Of her various works, the best known are “Beatrice Cenci in Her -Cell”; “Willo’-the-Wisp”; “The Sleeping and the Waking Faun”; and a -colossal statue of “Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, in Chains.” She exhibited -a statue of Queen Isabella of Spain at the World’s Columbian Exposition. -A statue of “Puck” was so spirited and original, that it was ordered -more than thirty times, is also her work. - -=Emma Stebbins= (1815–1882) produced a statue of Horace Mann for Boston, -and a large fountain for Central Park, New York, the subject being “The -Angel of the Waters.” - -The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has in its collections -several works by =Frances Grimes=, =Laura Gardin=, =Malvina Hoffman=, -and =Evelyn Longman=. Miss Hoffman’s best known work, “The Russian -Bachanale,” showing two almost nude dancing figures in bronze, was in -1919 presented by an American connoisseur to the famous Gardens of the -Luxembourg in Paris. - - * * * * * - -The United States of America produced also the first women architects. -In 1881 =Louise Bethune= took the lead. Somewhat later the New York firm -=Hands & Gannon=, both members of which were women, designed the plans -for numerous schools, hospitals, and model homes for the working people. -=Elizabeth Holman= in Philadelphia became favorably known for her -excellent designs for theatres, hotels, and cottages. =Mrs. Wagner= in -Pittsburgh made a specialty of university buildings, churches and -chapels. - -=Miss Sophie G. Hayden= of Boston, a graduate of the architectural -school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was the architect -of the beautiful Women’s Pavilion at the World’s Columbian Exposition. -The task of adorning this building with sculptures, emblematic of -woman’s great work in the world, was after an extremely vigorous contest -awarded to =Miss Alice Rideout=, of San Francisco. Women architects -likewise designed the imposing woman’s palaces at the expositions in St. -Louis, Atlanta, and San Francisco. Since then the number of women in -this line of activity has steadily increased. According to the Census of -1910 the United States had in that year 1037 women architects, designers -and draftsmen. - -Thus we find woman hard at work in all the various realms of art. And -since her joy in beauty is supreme, we may well expect that her -expression of the highest beauty, the spiritual, will in time favorably -compare with that of her brother-artists. - - - GREAT MONUMENTS OF WOMAN’S PHILANTHROPY. - -Woman and philanthropy have always been inseparably connected, for -charity has been regarded in all ages as one of the noblest virtues of -the gentle sex. - -There is scarcely any country which does not cherish the memory of some -women for great works of charity. Germany, for instance, has the lovely -story of Elizabeth, the wife of Ludwig IV., landgrave of Thuringia, who -reigned during the first half of the 13th Century. Feeling an aversion -to worldly pleasures, and making the early Christians her example, -Elizabeth devoted herself to works of benevolence. In these she was so -liberal, that her husband became uneasy, fearing she might impoverish -his estate by her alms-giving. He accordingly bade her to give less to -the poor. But secretly she spent just as much. One day, while she was -carrying a heavy load of bread in her basket, she was stopped by her -husband, who inquired what she was hiding. “Roses, my Lord, roses!” she -said, hoping that he would not investigate. But when he insisted on -seeing them, she was forced to open her basket and, oh wonder! all the -loaves of bread had turned into the most beautiful roses.— - -America remembers =Dorothea Dix= as one of the most distinguished women -it ever has produced. Compelled by declining health to go to Europe from -1834 to 1837, she had ample opportunity to study in Liverpool and other -cities of England the terrible conditions of the poor, especially of the -inmates of poor-houses and insane-asylums. As at that time similar -institutions in America were just as bad, she gave after her return to -the United States all her time, strength and influence to ameliorate -suffering, and to persuade the public to furnish suitable asylums, also -to improve the moral discipline of prisons and penitentiaries. For this -purpose she visited every State east of the Rocky Mountains, seeking out -intelligent and benevolent people, and trying to kindle in their hearts -the same enthusiasm that filled her own. - -Fearless in lifting her voice against abuses, she was so persistent in -reiterating her protests and in pleading needed reforms, that attention -had to be given her. The founding of many state hospitals and -insane-asylums in the United States as well as in Nova Scotia and -Newfoundland is due to her indefatigable work. - -A similar case is that of =Margaret Fuller=, the famous author. Warmly -espousing the cause of reform in many directions and making herself the -champion of truth and human rights at any cost, she visited prisons and -charitable institutions and talked freely with the female inmates. It -was on the common ground of womanhood that she approached these degraded -of her own sex, true to her unalterable faith in awakening whatever -divine spark might be there. She was surprised herself at the -results—the touching traits and the possibilities that still survived in -beings so forlorn and degraded. Many of them expressed a wish to see her -alone, in order to confide to her the secrets of their ruined lives, and -their ardent desire to enter a new course whereby they might regain -respectability. Thus making herself the friend of the friendless, -Margaret Fuller began what we call to-day “settlement work.” - -In the matter of prison reform the name of =Elizabeth Guerney Fry= -(1780–1845) will likewise be remembered as one of the first women -promoters in this line of charity. An accidental visit to Newgate Prison -in London disclosed to her the horrible conditions prevailing in this -ill-reputed dungeon. Like most prisons at the time it was dark, damp, -and cold in winter. The prisoners were usually half-starved, and clad in -rags; often loaded with chains, and oftener yet pestered by vermin and -rats. The ward, into which Miss Fry penetrated, although strongly -dissuaded by the officials, was like a den of wild beasts. It was filled -with a hundred and sixty women and children, gambling, fighting, -swearing, yelling, dancing. It justly deserved its name of “hell above -ground.” The general disorder and abject misery of the women confined -there so impressed Miss Fry, that she took immediate and effectual means -to relieve them. The first step in the great public work of her life was -the forming of “The Association for the Improvement of the Female -Prisoners in Newgate,” in April, 1817. Its aim was the establishment of -what is now regarded as “prison discipline,” such as entire separation -of the sexes, classification of criminals, female supervision for the -women, and adequate provision for their religious and secular -instruction, as also for their useful employment. Disregarding sarcastic -critics, who protested against the “ultra-humanitarianism which sought -to make jails too comfortable and tended to pamper criminals,” Miss Fry -pursued her way and finally brought about the passing of Acts (1823–24), -in which it was laid down that over and above safe custody it was -essential to preserve health, improve morals, and enforce useful labor -in all prisons. Not content with these results, Miss Fry likewise -inspected during the time from 1818 to 1841 the principal prisons of -Scotland, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Southern -Germany, and Denmark, everywhere conferring personally with the leading -prison officials. By keeping up a constant correspondence with them she -had the satisfaction of hearing from almost every quarter of Europe that -the authorities were giving an ever increasing consideration to her -suggestions.— - -Following the example set by Miss Fry, women in many countries aided in -forming societies for the improvement of prison-discipline. They also -established reformatories for women and juvenile delinquents. For -instance =Mrs. Abbey Hopper Gibbons= assisted in founding the “Women’s -Prison Association of New York” in 1844 and the “Isaac T. Hopper Home.” -Its objects were: “First, the improvement of the condition of the -prisoners, whether detained on trial or finally convicted, or as -witnesses; secondly, the support and encouragement of reformed convicts -after their discharge, by affording them an opportunity of obtaining an -honest livelihood, and sustaining them in their efforts to reform.” - -The association employs an executive secretary who visits all the places -where women are detained in the State or City of New York, keeps track -of the housing conditions and studies the treatment of the prisoners. On -the basis of this exact knowledge, the Association has proposed various -reforms; for example the establishment of Bedford Reformatory was -largely due to the efforts of this society, and the appointment of -police matrons in the city station houses. Through the instrumentality -of Mrs. Hopper Gibbons the “New York State Reformatory for Women and -Girls” was established by the Legislature. - -Through the efforts of =Linda Gilbert= various prisons throughout the -country were provided with libraries. She also secured the incorporation -of the “Gilbert Library and Prisoners’ Aid Society” under the laws of -the State of New York. Furthermore she procured employment for thousands -of ex-convicts, and aided others in establishing in business in a small -way.— - -To enumerate what women have contributed to culture as founders and -patronesses of infant homes, foundling and orphan asylums, industrial -schools and homes for boys and girls, of refuges for unfortunate women, -invalids and the aged, of hospitals for destitute children and for -people afflicted with tuberculosis, cancer, and incurable diseases, is a -task impossible for the limited space of this book. Besides, all -information is fragmentary and far too insufficient to give a true idea -of the vast sums and immense amount of time, labor, and effort, devoted -by women to these works of charity. Constantly on the lookout to -alleviate sorrow and provide comfort, they have not forgotten even those -lonely men, who do duty in remote light houses and life-saving stations. -It was through the efforts of women that these involuntary hermits, who -often do not come in touch with other human beings for several months, -are regularly provided with interesting books and entertaining games. - -=Mrs. Matilde Ziegler= of New York has taken a special interest in the -blind. Mrs. Ziegler, at an expense of $20,000 a year, founded a monthly -magazine for the blind, which has a printing press of double the -capacity of any printing plant for the blind in any other country. Blind -girls do all the work connected with this magazine. - -=Georgia Trader= in Cincinnati established school classes for the blind -and a library with over 25,000 volumes, from which books in raised type -are sent to the blind all over the country, free of any charge. She also -founded a working-home for blind girls, where they are profitably -employed in weaving rugs, and in various artistic work and handicraft. - -=Jane Addams= in 1889 opened in Chicago a social settlement, known as -“Hull House.” Wonderful work in sociology is done there. Many thousands -of men, women and children are instructed in all kinds of handicraft, -and directed to places, where they can make an honest and profitable -living. They have also access to an excellent library, comfortable club -rooms, lecture-halls, kindergarten, play-grounds and other institutions. - -Miss Addams is to-day recognized as one of the foremost women in her -line of work, and by her example as well as through her public lectures -and able books, has probably done more than anybody else for the -extension of practical sociology. - -Women have also taken charge of thousands of tired working-girls and -sent them to the country for a short rest during the summer, thus -enabling them to take up their lives of toil with renewed vigor and -courage. - -Similar organizations have established vacation schools to save children -from the demoralization of the long summer idleness, and to secure for -them fresh air vacations. - -Moved by a sincere desire to improve the conditions of the despised and -maltreated American Indians, =Helen Hunt Jackson=, =Alice Fletcher=, and -=Mary L. Bonney= succeeded after indefatigable efforts in awakening -interest among the legislators in their work. Miss Fletcher, in her -valuable book “Indian Civilization and Education,” gave such ample proof -of her special qualifications that she was appointed by President -Cleveland in 1887 as a special agent of the Government, to allot lands -to various Indian tribes. Mary L. Bonney devoted herself principally to -educational work and, in 1881, was foremost in the task of organizing -the “Indian Treaty-Keeping and Protective Association” by which the many -unlawful encroachments of white settlers, and the oppression of the Red -Men by government agents were stopped. - -In their efforts to alleviate the hard lot of negro slaves, =Lucretia -Mott=, =Sarah= and =Angelica Grimke=, =Harriet Beecher Stowe=, and many -others, braved criticism, insults and social ostracism. - -By organizing societies for the prevention of cruelty to children and -animals, women have taken care of those who cannot speak for themselves. -In many cities they have likewise provided drinking fountains for men -and for animals. - -All women members of the “National Association of the Audubon -Societies,” that protect bird-life in America, bind themselves never to -decorate their hats with plumes and feathers. They have also secured -laws that forbid hunters to kill useful birds, and prevent milliners -from buying or exhibiting feathers and stuffed skins of such birds. - -As generous patronesses of education, science and art many women have -set themselves lasting monuments. - -=Catherine L. Wolfe= donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New -York not only her magnificent collection of paintings, but likewise a -fund of $200,000 for its preservation and increase. A million dollars -was also bequeathed by her to several educational institutions founded -by her father and herself. She is also known as the founder of the New -York Home for Incurables. - -=Mary Tileston Hemenway= supported the so-called Hemenway Expeditions -for the archæological exploration of certain regions of Arizona and New -Mexico. - -=Jane Lathrop Stanford=, wife of Leland Stanford, railway constructor, -and U. S. Senator from California, founded in memory of her son the -“Leland Stanford Jr. University” at Palo Alto, near San Francisco. At -her own expense Mrs. Stanford established a museum, connected with the -university, containing objects of art, and many things she had collected -during her extensive travels. At her death the entire estate of the -Stanfords, amounting to about $50,000,000, was left to endow this great -university. Her San Francisco home, on Nob Hill, became an art gallery -and museum. - -=Phœbe Hearst=, wife of George Hearst, and mother of William Randolph -Hearst, made large donations to the University of California. These -included $800,000 for the erection and equipment of the Hearst Memorial -Mining Building. She also made provision for twenty scholarships for -women, and founded a number of free libraries in mining towns with which -her husband had been associated. Mrs. Hearst was also actively -interested in every kind of organization for the welfare of women. -Furthermore she established and maintained two kindergarten schools in -San Francisco, and three in Washington, one of which is for colored -children. Her most important gift to the District of Columbia was the -National Cathedral School for Girls, erected on a beautiful site on the -outskirts of the city. - -=Margaret Olivia Sage=, the widow of Russell Sage, donated between -seventy-five and eighty million dollars for charitable and educational -purposes. With ten millions she established in 1907 the “Sage Foundation -for Social Betterment.” Its purpose is the improvement of social and -living conditions in the United States. It does not attempt to relieve -individual or family need, but tries to seek out and eliminate causes of -this evil. It furthers education that more directly affects social and -living conditions, such as industrial education, education in household -arts, and the training of social workers. In the pursuit of these aims -the Sage Foundation subsidized worthy activities and organizations; it -has established investigational and propagandist departments of its own; -invested its funds in activities with a social purpose; and published -extensively books and pamphlets on social subjects. Since the work of -the Russell Sage Foundation aids social advance for people of every -nation, Mrs. Sage became one of the benefactors not only of this -country, but of the world. - -Among the many donations Mrs. Sage made to other institutions, were -$600,000 to the Troy Female Seminary, which was one of the first schools -in America for the higher education of girls; $1,600,000 to the Woman’s -Hospital of New York; $1,600,000 to the Children’s Aid Society; -$1,600,000 to the Metropolitan Museum of Art; $1,600,000 to the American -Museum of Natural History; and $1,600,000 to Syracuse University. - -The list here given mentions only a few of the innumerable philanthropic -works of American women. Similar lists could be made for all other -countries, but the material has never been properly collected. Besides, -by far the greatest number of such benevolent acts have been performed -without public knowledge. But wherever we go, we find women active, -helpful, and persevering, always rejoicing in the accomplishment of -good. - -[Illustration] - - - THE HUNDRED YEARS’ BATTLE FOR WOMAN SUFFRAGE. - -“If particular care and attention are not paid to the ladies, we are -determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound to -obey any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”—This was the -warning directed by =Mrs. John Adams= in March, 1776, to her husband -while he was attending the Continental Congress, assembled in -Philadelphia to consider the Declaration of Independence. - -When this document was framed and adopted without recognizing the rights -of women, Mrs. Adams and a number of other women, deeply indignant, made -good the threat of Mrs. Adams and opened that most remarkable warfare, -which has lasted for more than a hundred years and may be called -“=Woman’s Battle for Suffrage=.” - -That they were deeply disappointed by the inattention of Congress, may -be inferred from a letter by =Hannah Lee=, the sister of General Lee, in -which she asks her brother to demand from Congress suffrage for women, -as otherwise they would not pay any taxes. The same request was made by -various other prominent women, who pointed to the fact that, while their -husbands and sons had fought for the inherent rights of men, they had -likewise fought for the rights of women. But as at that time American -women were not organized their demands failed to make the necessary -impression and remained unheeded. Besides, the majority of American -women receiving only a very limited education, took little interest in -the question, because of their ignorance of its importance. Thus, the -subject of woman’s rights and suffrage dragged on until women had -discovered, that there is strength in numbers, in federation, and that -federation is the preliminary requirement to make victory possible. - -The evolution of women’s clubs during the 19th Century is one of the -most striking and most important phenomena in woman’s history. The -movement began with the sewing or spinning circles of long ago, and made -a great stride when the custom was initiated of some members reading -while the others sewed. Later on these circles evolved into -reading-clubs, which again developed into literary societies and -associations for public improvement, aiming at the establishment of -public schools and libraries, the erection of hospitals, orphan asylums, -the sanitation of the streets, and other public works. - -Such women’s clubs were not even afraid to tackle such most difficult -problems as the abolition of slavery, which, at the end of the 18th and -the beginning of the 19th Century, became the burning question of the -time. The hot discussion of this problem split the population of the -United States into two hostile factions, of which the South with its -partisans in the North made desperate efforts to prevent the free -expression of opinion respecting the institution of slavery. In the -slave States even the Christian churches used their influence in favor -of the maintenance of slavery. - -Among the first and strongest advocates of abolition were =Sarah= and -=Angelina Grimke=, the daughters of a family of Salzburgers, who during -the 18th Century had immigrated into South Carolina and Georgia. Shocked -by the inhuman treatment and cruelties inflicted upon the slaves all -round, and suffering intensely from the stand taken by their own -relatives, the sisters resolved to fight these abuses. - -While visiting Philadelphia, Sarah came under the influence of the -Quakers, and read the strong protest against slavery, which Pastorius -and the settlers of Germantown in 1688 had directed to the Quaker -meeting. Returning to her home, Sarah besought her relatives to free -their slaves. Failing in this effort, she left her home, joined the -Quaker society of the “Friends” in Philadelphia, and in 1835 directed an -“Appeal to the Christian Women of the South,” imploring them to become -active on behalf of the slaves. This pamphlet aroused such a profound -sensation wherever it was read, that when some time afterward Miss -Grimke expressed a desire to visit her former home, the mayor of -Charleston called upon her mother and informed her that the police had -been instructed to prevent her daughter’s landing when the steamer -should come into port. He also would see to it that she might not -communicate with any person, by letter or otherwise, and that, if she -should elude the vigilance of the police and go ashore, she was to be -arrested and imprisoned until the return of the vessel. As threats of -personal violence were also made, Miss Grimke abandoned her visit, but -published soon afterward “An Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern -States,” and, at the same time, began to address meetings in -Pennsylvania as well as in the New England States, in order to rouse the -dormant moral sense of the hearers to protest against the colossal sin -of the nation. She was assisted by her sister Angelina and such eloquent -speakers as =Lucretia Mott=, =Elizabeth Stanton=, =William Lloyd -Garrison= and others. These agitators finally created such a stir, that -the conservatives and opponents of abolition decided that they must be -silenced. Quite often their meetings were disturbed by mobs; halls were -refused them, and violence was threatened. The General Association of -Congregational Ministers of Massachusetts passed a resolution censuring -the Grimke sisters, and issued a pastoral letter containing a tirade -against “female preachers.” But in spite of all efforts, public -sentiment in the North in favor of abolition steadily grew, until it -became evident that the question could not be settled without an armed -conflict. - -At a gathering of abolitionists, held on July 19th, 1848, at the home of -=Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton= in Seneca, N.Y., the question of women’s -rights was eagerly discussed. Mrs. Stanton, the daughter of a lawyer, -had found by frequent visits to her father’s office that according to -the then existing laws, which had been adopted from England, married -women had no right of disposal over their own inherited property, their -own income, or their own children, no matter how unfit, degraded, and -cruel their husbands might be. There was even no redress for corporal -punishment which the husbands might inflict on their wives. - -[Illustration: - - ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. -] - -Another woman, present at the gathering, was =Lucretia Mott=, a Quaker -teacher. It had been her experience, that female teachers, having paid -for their education just as much as the males, obtained, when teaching, -only half of the compensation granted to male teachers. - -But the indignation of the two women over the inferior position of woman -had been especially excited while attending the World’s Anti-Slavery -Convention, held in 1840 at London. Both women, together with Mrs. -Wendell Phillips, had been appointed delegates by the abolitionists of -America, and as they were able speakers, much had been expected from -their eloquence. But when the women submitted their credentials, they -discovered that the English abolitionists had not reformed their -antiquated views of male predominance and would not admit any woman as -delegate nor on the platform. When the question was submitted to vote, -the women were excluded by a large majority. This flat refusal to -recognize woman’s right to an equal participation in all social, -political, and religious affairs brought what is termed “the Woman -Question” into greater prominence than ever before. The gathering in the -Wesleyan chapel, at Seneca Falls, N.Y., Mrs. Stanton’s home, is known as -the =First Woman’s Rights Convention=. Held on the 19th and 20th of -July, 1848, it was attended by 68 women and 38 men. The simultaneous -discussion of the subject of slavery and the natural rights of man had -as their logical consequence, on the part of women, the demand of a -privilege exercised in many cases by persons far below them in -intelligence and education. They asserted that many of their number were -taxpayers, that all were interested in good government, and that it -would be unjust for women of intelligence to be deprived of a vote while -ignorant negroes could have a voice in the government. Furthermore they -asserted that the participation of women would have a purifying effect -on politics. - -At the close of the second day the convention adopted the following: - - - Declaration of Sentiments. - -“The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and -usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the -establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts -be submitted to a candid world. - -“He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the -elective franchise. - -“He has compelled her to submit to laws in the formation of which she -had no voice. - -“He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most ignorant -and degraded men—both natives and foreigners. - -“Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective -franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of -legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides. - -“He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead. - -“He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she -earns. - -“He has so framed the laws of divorce as to what shall be the proper -causes, and, in case of separation, to whom the guardianship of the -children shall be given, as to be wholly regardless of the happiness of -women—the law in all cases going upon a false supposition of the -supremacy of man, and giving all power into his hands. - -“After depriving her of all rights as a married woman, if single and the -owner of property, he has taxed her to support a government which -recognizes her only when her property can be made profitable to it. - -“He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from -those she is permitted to follow she receives but a scanty remuneration. -He closes against her all the avenues of wealth and distinction which he -considers most honorable to himself. As a teacher of theology, medicine, -or law, she is not known. - -“He allows her in church, as well as state, but a subordinate position, -claiming Apostolic authority for her exclusion from the ministry and, -with some exceptions, from any public participation in the affairs of -the church. - -“He has created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a -different code of morals for men and women, by which moral delinquencies -which exclude women from society are not only tolerated but deemed of -little account in man. - -“He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah himself, claiming it as his -right to assign for her a sphere of action, when that belongs to her -conscience and God. - -“He has endeavored, in every way that he could, to destroy her -confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make -her willing to lead a dependent and abject life. - -“Now, in view of this disfranchisement of one-half the people of this -country, their social and religious degradation; in view of the unjust -laws mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved, -oppressed and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we -insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and -privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States.” - - -Of course, this declaration, modeled after the immortal Declaration of -1776, did not fail to create a sensation everywhere. Other conventions -were held in Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y., and in Salem, Ohio. They -brought to the front a number of wonderful women, whose names were -henceforth connected with this movement, first among them =Susan B. -Anthony=, =Lucy Stone=, =Paulina Wright Davis= and =Anna Howard Shaw=. -In October, 1850, the =First National Woman’s Rights Convention= was -held at Worcester, Mass. Attended by delegates from nine states it was -distinguished by addresses and papers of the highest character, which -filled the audiences with enthusiasm. A National Committee was formed, -under whose management conventions were held annually in various cities. -An account of the convention, written by =Mrs. John Stuart Mill=, in the -“Westminster Review,” London, marked the beginning of the movement for -woman suffrage in Great Britain. But in spite of all efforts and -agitation, progress was but slow. The first result was not gained before -1861, when Kansas granted school suffrage to women, a step that was not -followed by other states for many years afterwards. - -How averse the stronger sex was to grant women suffrage became evident, -when in 1868 the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution of the -United States were adopted. These amendments abolished slavery and gave -the freed negroes of the South all privileges of citizenship, including -the right to vote. Section 1 of the 15th amendment reads: - - “The right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or - abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account - of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” - -As the advocates of woman suffrage were American citizens, they held -themselves entitled to the same rights as granted to the negroes. But -their demands to be registered as legal voters were denied by the -registrars of elections. Now the women appealed to the courts, to see if -their claim would be sustained by invoking the aid of those -constitutional amendments above cited. But the uniform decision in each -court was that these amendments had in no way changed or abridged the -right of each State to restrict suffrage to =males=, and that they -applied only to the men of color and to existing rights and privileges. -An appeal to the Supreme Court resulted in the decision that this body -was in accordance with the decisions of the State courts. - -To test the application of the 14th and 15th amendments to the -Constitution =Susan B. Anthony=,—who in 1860 with others had been -successful in securing the passage of an Act of the New York -Legislation, giving to married women the possession of their earnings, -as well as the guardianship of their children,—cast in 1872 ballots at -the State and Congressional elections in New York. Miss Anthony was -indicted and in 1873 found guilty of criminal offense against the United -States for knowingly voting for congressmen without having a lawful -right to vote, which offense was punishable, under Act of Congress, by a -heavy fine or imprisonment. Fined $100 for illegal voting, Miss Anthony -declared that she would never pay the penalty, and in fact it has never -been collected. - -[Illustration: - - SUSAN B. ANTHONY. -] - -Undaunted by the decision of the Court, Miss Anthony in 1875 proposed -the following amendment to Article 1 of the Constitution: - -“Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not -be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on =account -of sex=. - -“Section 2. Congress shall have power by appropriate legislation to -enforce the provisions of this article.” - -This resolution was introduced by Senator Sargent of California in 1878, -but was rejected several times. In 1887 it secured in the Senate only 14 -affirmative to 34 negative votes. - -But several years before the indictment of Miss Anthony woman suffrage -had already won its first victory, in the Territory of Wyoming. The -Organic Act for the regulation of the Territorial governments provides -that at the first election in any Territory male citizens of the age of -twenty-one years shall vote, but - - “at all subsequent elections the qualifications of voters - and for holding office shall be such as may be prescribed by - the legislative assembly of each Territory.” - -Under this act the first legislative assembly of Wyoming, in 1869, -granted women the right to vote and to hold office upon the same terms -as men. An effort made in 1871, to repeal this statute, failed, and to -the men of Wyoming belongs the honor, of having been first to recognize -the rights of women. - -A further gain was made when the Republican National Convention of 1872 -and 1876 resolved that “the honest demands” of women for additional -rights should be treated with respectful consideration. - -Of still greater importance was the organization of two national Woman -Suffrage Associations, the one with headquarters in New York, the other -in Boston. A union of these two bodies was effected in 1890 under the -title of “=The National American Woman Suffrage Association=.” - -Mrs. Stanton was elected president of the new organization. When in 1892 -she resigned from her office because of advancing age, she was followed -by Miss Anthony, who in 1900 resigned at the age of 80. Her successors -were =Miss Anna Howard Shaw= and =Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt=. - -Under the able leadership of these brilliant women victory was now -followed by victory. Up to 1914 Colorado, Idaho, Washington, California, -Arizona, Kansas, Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Montana had joined the ranks -of Woman Suffrage States; also the Territory of Alaska. - -To these Western regions the Eastern and Southern States formed a -strange contrast, as so far the suffragists had been unable to conquer -one of them. For this surprising fact I fail to find any other -explanation but that the Western men are much more conscious of a great -historical truth, which the men in the East and South seem to have -almost forgotten, namely: =that to the women the founding of real -culture in America is due. Having heroically shared with their husbands -all hardships and dangers, having gone with them on their hazardous -journeys into the wilderness, even on their long voyages across the -prairies and Rocky Mountains to far Oregon and California, the women -provided the first permanent homes and filled them with comfort, -sunshine and happiness. In recognition of these facts the Western men -granted their partners only a well deserved tribute of gratitude.= - -In many places the men expressed their respect for the gentler sex by -electing women to important public offices, and in almost all cases -these positions have been filled to the fullest satisfaction. - - * * * * * - -The steady progress of woman suffrage in the United States was followed -by the women of other countries with intense interest, especially by -those of Great Britain and Australia. Encouraged to like activity, they -demonstrated with convincing clearness the injustice of the legislatures -toward women and thus prepared the way for a similar movement in favor -of woman suffrage. The result was that the English government in 1869 -adopted the Municipal Reform Act, which permits women to vote in all -municipal elections. An Act of 1870 gave them the school vote. The Act -of 1888 made them voters for the county councils. An Act of 1894 -abolished in all departments of local government the qualification of -sex. - -[Illustration: - - DR. ANNA HOWARD SHAW. -] - -New Zealand, one of the most progressive of all countries, went even -farther. The women there were granted suffrage in 1893 on the same basis -with men. A similar step was taken in the following year by South -Australia. And when in 1901 the Commonwealth of Australia was formed by -the federation of the six provinces, or states, of New South Wales, -Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania, -one of the first steps was to give all women full national suffrage. - -In the countries of continental Europe the evolution of local women’s -organizations to State- and National Unions had been the same as in the -United States and in England. But the majority of these societies -remained conservative in regard to woman suffrage. Germany since 1813 -has had the “=Vaterlaendische Frauenverein=” (Patriotic Women’s League), -a union of wonderful helpers for suffering humanity, both in peace and -in war. Since 1865 a “General Association of German Women” tried to -secure new rights for women, both along political and economic lines. A -“=Society for Woman Suffrage=” was not formed before 1902. But only two -years later the “=International Suffrage Alliance=” was formed in -Berlin, with =Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt=, of New York, as president. The -progressive movement in Germany took largely the form of educational and -industrial training. And the women shared the national belief that -education precedes every good, and that for their legal and political -protection from injustice they might rely upon their male relatives. - -[Illustration: - - CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT. -] - -In certain districts of Germany, Austria, Denmark, Hungary and Russia -women who owned property, were permitted to cast their votes on various -communal matters, either by proxy or in person. In Belgium, the -Netherlands, France, Italy, Switzerland, Roumania and Bulgaria women had -no political rights whatever, but were permitted to vote for certain -state boards—educational, philanthropic, correctional and industrial. In -France, women as a rule showed little sympathy with suffrage, retaining -their racial instinct that they might accomplish more through social -influence, personal suasion and the special charms of their sex than by -working openly through the ballot. - -In Switzerland few women had the courage to seek emancipation, as those -who favored the movement were looked upon as disreputable persons -without regard for social laws. In Portugal and Spain women remained -absolutely indifferent. Sweden had given women the right to vote in all -elections, except for representatives, while Finland and Norway in 1906 -and 1907 granted full suffrage rights and eligibility to women upon -exceedingly generous terms. - -Since the beginning of the 20th Century the Modern Woman’s Rights -Movement has also caused significant changes in the status of the women -of the Balkan States, and of the countries of the Orient and the Far -East. Restrictions and obstacles, placed on woman by tradition and -religious rules, have been abolished. Many Mohammedan women for instance -appear to-day on the streets without veils, a thing that no prominent -woman could do formerly. The establishment of girls’ schools, woman’s -colleges, universities, woman clubs and journals mark likewise the -progress of the movement. And in Servia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Egypt -and Japan exist federations of women’s clubs, which can be regarded as -political organizations. - -Thus, at the beginning of the memorable year of 1914 woman throughout -the civilized world had gained various degrees of freedom in the -exercise of her political rights. - -[Illustration] - - - WHY WOMEN WANT AND NEED THE VOTE. - -Few questions have been so universally and intensely discussed as the -right and expediency of Woman Suffrage. Its opponents assert that the -true woman needs no governing authority conferred upon her by law. While -discussing this question one “gentleman” said “that the highest evidence -of respect that man could exhibit toward woman, and the noblest service -he could perform for her, were to vote =Nay= to the proposition that -would take from her the diadem of pearls, the talisman of faith, hope -and love, by which all other requests are won from men, and substitute -for it the iron crown of authority.” - -The chief arguments brought forward against woman suffrage are: that the -majority of the women never desired it, because they were already -represented by their husbands, fathers and brothers; that there were -already too many voters, and that by admitting women to suffrage the -whole machinery and cost of voting would be doubled without changing the -result; that women would not have time to perform their political duties -without neglecting their higher duties at home; that women were too -emotional and sentimental to be entrusted with the ballot; that women -would cease to vote after the novelty had worn off; that the -introduction of women into political life would increase its bitterness, -and would abolish chivalry with its refining influence on men; that the -franchise, in a large majority of instances, would be exercised under -the influence of priests, parsons, and ministers, under the power of -religious prejudice, and that religious feuds would affect political -life much more than under present circumstances. And finally it has been -asserted that woman suffrage would place a new and terrible strain upon -family relations as the introduction of political disputes into domestic -life would lead to quarrels and divorce. - -These arguments were answered in an editorial of the “New York American” -of October 6, 1912, as follows: - -“The ballot is the weapon that men use in defending their rights. It is -the voice with which men express their opinions, their wishes, as to -law, in the more settled civilization where the ballot is the recognized -power. Little by little the mass of the people—that is to say, of the -men—have got the ballot. Originally there was no ballot. Savage tribes -held disorganized meetings, and shouted their opinions. The loudest -shouters won, and the man who could hit the hardest led the others. -Little by little the big man formed his own opinions, alone reached his -own decisions, and the others had nothing to say. The expression of -opinion was confined to one, or to a few leaders, gathered under a -chief, or, where religion ruled, opinion was controlled by the priests -in the old temples making up their minds what would be good =for them=, -and forcing their will on ignorant people. For many centuries the kings, -the nobles and the priests ruled—and the people had nothing to say. =Men -and women alike were without the vote.= - -“Little by little, the men got the vote, and now, in civilized -countries, universal suffrage became the rule, =as regards men=. The -women were shut out because men always have had the idea that voting was -in some way connected with fighting. Their thoughts went back to the old -savage mob shouting its determination to attack and kill—leaving the -women at home. And the ignoring of women persists, although little by -little the voting power has been used, not to make war, =but to prevent -war=. - -“Now, in every country calling itself civilized, the chief use of the -ballot is to express ideas of peace—justice. The ballot that was once -the expression of man’s fighting quality is now the expression of his -=better nature=, and for that reason it is time to give that ballot to -the better half of the human race, to the women that have civilized it. - -“Supporters of women suffrage are, and for many years have been, the -best men in the country. Men that are unselfish, just, scorning -ridicule, and proud to vindicate the rights of their own mothers and -sisters, have long demanded votes for women. The women that have worked -and fought for the suffrage have been, beyond all comparison, the best -women of this and other countries. Humorists used to talk of -“short-haired women and long-haired men” as the advocates of woman -suffrage. That is a foolish and false division. The women with good -foreheads, earnest, gentle and dignified faces have been the advocates -of votes for women. The women with low foreheads, plastered with hair, -the women with their faces painted, the women with a hundred thoughts -for dress and no thought for anything else, have been the opponents of -women suffrage. And the men, brutal, conceited, looking upon woman as a -piece of property, created for man’s pleasure or for his service, have -been the men that opposed suffrage. Another class opposed to woman -suffrage is the most dangerous class of all. That is the class that -would keep in ignorance women, and men, too, if it could. Those that -prey upon the ignorance and superstition of women are anxious that women -shall know as little as possible. They do not want the women to vote, -=for voting means thinking, and thinking means freedom=. Wherever women -have voted they have bettered conditions.”— - -Lecky in his valuable book “Democracy and Liberty” writes on page 547: -“It has been gravely alleged that the whole character of the female sex -would be revolutionized, or at least seriously impaired, if they were -brought by the suffrage into public life. There is perhaps no subject in -which exaggerations so enormous and so grotesque may be found in the -writings of considerable men. Considered in itself, the process of -voting is now merely that of marking once in several years a -ballot-paper in a quiet room, and it may be easily accomplished in five -minutes. And can it reasonably be said that the time or thought which an -average male elector bestows on the formation of his political opinions -is such as to interfere in any appreciable degree with the currents of -his thoughts, with the tendencies of his character or life? Men wrote on -this subject as if public life and interests formed the main occupation -of an ordinary voter. It is said that domestic life should be the one -sphere of woman. Very many women—especially those to whom the vote would -be conceded—have no domestic, or but few domestic duties to attend to, -and are compelled, if they are not wholly frivolous or wholly apathic, -to seek spheres of useful activity beyond their homes. Even a full -domestic life is scarcely more absorbing to a woman than professional -life to a man. Scarcely any woman is so engrossed in it that she cannot -bestow on public affairs an amount of time and intelligence equal to -that which is bestowed on it by thousands of masculine voters. Nothing -can be more fantastic than to argue as if electors were a select body, -mainly occupied with political studies and public interests. - -“Women form a great section of the community, and they have many special -interests. The opening to them of employments, professions and -endowments; the regulation of their labor; questions of women’s property -and succession; the punishment of crimes against women; female -education; laws relating to marriage, guardianship, and divorce, may all -be cited; and in the great drink question they are even more interested -than men, for though they are the more sober sex, they are also the sex -which suffers most from the consequences of intemperance. With such a -catalogue of special interests it is impossible to say that they have -not a claim to representation.”— - -Among the arguments in favor of woman suffrage the most important are -the following: As women are citizens of a Government =of= the people, -=by= the people, and =for= the people, and =as women are people=, who -wish to do their civic duty, it is unfair that they should be governed -by laws in the making of which they have no voice. As women are equally -concerned with men in good and bad government, and equally responsible -for civic righteousness, and as they must obey the laws just as men do, -they should vote equally with men. - -If it is true that “taxation without representation is tyranny” then -tax-paying women who support the government by paying taxes, should have -the right to vote to elect such representatives, who protect them -against unjust taxation. - -Working women need the ballot to regulate the conditions under which -they work. Millions of women are wage-earners and their health is often -endangered by bad working conditions and sweat-shop methods that can -only be remedied by legislation. - -Business women need the ballot to secure for themselves a fair -opportunity in their business, and to protect themselves against adverse -legislation. - -Mothers and housekeepers need the vote to regulate the moral and -sanitary conditions under which their families must live. Women are -forever told that their place is in the home. But what do men expect of -them in the home? Merely to stay there is not enough. They are a failure -unless they do certain things for the home. They must minister, as far -as their means allow, to the health and welfare, moral as well as -physical, of their family, and especially of the children. They, more -than anybody else, are held responsible for what becomes of the -children. Women are responsible for the cleanliness of the house, for -the wholesomeness of the food, for their children’s health and morals. -But mothers cannot control these things, if the neighbors are allowed to -live in filth, if dealers are permitted to sell poor or adulterated -food, if the plumbing in the house is unsanitary, if garbage accumulates -and the halls and stairs are left dirty. They can take every care to -avoid fire, but if the house has been badly built, if the fire-escapes -are insufficient or not fire-proof, they cannot guard their children -from the horrors of being maimed or killed by fire. They can open the -windows to give the children the air that we are told is so necessary. -But if the air is laden with infection and contagious diseases, they -cannot protect the children from this danger. They can send the children -out for air and exercise, but if the conditions that surround them in -the streets are immoral and degrading, they cannot protect them from -these influences. Women alone cannot make these things right. But the -City administration can do it. The administration is elected by the -people, to protect the interests of the people. As men hold women -responsible for the conditions under which the children live, the women -should have something to say about the city’s housekeeping, even if they -must introduce an occasional house-cleaning. - -What enormous influence women are able to exert in vital questions has -been demonstrated in the =Temperance Movement=; which originated in the -United States. Since the beginning of the colonization of the Western -Hemisphere Americans have been heavy consumers of rum, whiskey, and -other intoxicating liquors. “Everybody drank, and on all occasions,” -says a writer who has left us a pen picture of these bibulous days. -Drunkenness and all the evils resulting from it increased with the -gradual development of the “saloon” and the habit of “treating,” two -institutions peculiar to America and almost unknown in Europe. - -For generations the women were the greatest sufferers from the -intemperance of the men, because many husbands came home besotted, their -faculties benumbed to an unconsciousness of their own degradation, with -wages gone, and employment forfeited. The purer and gentler the wife in -such case, the more intense her suffering. So it was but natural, that -when the first “=Anti-Spirits Association=” was formed in 1808 in -Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York, several women should join it. The -movement made rapid progress, and in 1826 the “=American Temperance -Society=” was founded. In 1829 and 1830 similar associations were -started in Ireland and England; and in 1846 the first “=World’s -Temperance Convention=” was held at London. In 1873 women became a real -force in the field when the women inhabitants of Hillsborough, a small -town in Ohio, started what became known as “The Women’s Crusade.” - -Frances E. Willard, one of its principal leaders, described the -proceedings in the following graphic manner: “Usually the women came in -a long procession from their rendezvous at some church, where they had -held a morning prayer meeting. Marching two and two in a column, they -entered the saloon with kind faces, and the sweet songs of church and -home upon their lips, while some Madonna-like leader with the Gospel in -her looks, took her stand beside the bar and gently asked if she might -read God’s word and offer prayer. After that the ladies seated -themselves, took their knitting or embroidery, and watched the men who -patronized the saloons. While some of them cursed the women openly, and -some quietly slunk out of sight, others began to sign the pledge these -women brought with them. In the meantime one of the ladies pleaded with -the proprietor to give up his business. Many of these liquor dealers -surrendered and then followed stirring scenes, and amid songs and the -ringing of the church bells the contents of barrels and bottles were -gurgling into the gutter, while the whole town assembled to rejoice in -this new fashion of exorcising the evil spirits. - -“Not everywhere the ladies met with success. In Cincinnati such a -procession of women, including the wives of leading pastors, were -arrested and locked up in jail; at other places dogs were set on the -crusaders, or they were smoked out, or had the hose turned on them.” - -The movement, wholly emotional, and in many cases hysterical, spread -throughout the country like a prairie fire. In 1874 it led to the -organization of “=The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union=,” and, in -1883, to the founding of “=The World’s Women’s Temperance Union=,” the -members of which wear a white ribbon and have the motto: “Woman will -bless and brighten every place she enters, and she will enter every -place.” - -Since the founding of this world’s union the movement has extended over -many countries and has branched out into a multitude of organizations. -Their influence has been widely felt in legislatures, and in all -elections in which laws have been voted upon for the regulation of the -production and sale of liquors.— - -Another question in which women are deeply concerned is that of -=Child-labor=, the reckless exploitation of children in the interest of -industry. Evidences that in England the dreadful abuses, committed by -unscrupulous mine- and factory-owners, as described in a former chapter, -have continued to the present times, were submitted to the International -Women’s Congress, held in 1899 in London. It was reported that at that -time 144,026 children below the age of 12 years were employed in -workshops, mines, factories and warehouses. Of these children 131 had -not yet reached the age of 7 years; 1120 were under 8; 4211 under 9; -11,027 under 10, and 122,131 under 11 years of age. Miss Montessori, the -Italian delegate to the Congress, described the hard work of the -children employed in the sulphur mines of Sicily. As they have to carry -heavy loads on their shoulders through low gangways and over steep -ladders and stairways, they are compelled to walk in a stooped position, -and therefore in time become deformed and crippled. - -In the United States the question of child-labor is likewise a matter of -deep concern to men as well as to women. As every State has its own -Legislature, there exists a varied assortment of child-labor laws. Ten -or fifteen years ago several states had none whatever. Others prohibited -the employment of children under ten years, while still others had an -age limit of twelve or fourteen years. The same diversity prevailed in -regard to the hours of labor. Some states had no legislation in this -direction, while others forbade any child to work longer than ten hours -daily. - -During the year 1890 there was a total of 860,786 children between the -ages of ten and fifteen years at work in various occupations in the -United States. A report of the Bureau of Mines of Pennsylvania for 1901 -stated 24,023 of the employees of the anthracite coal mines in -Pennsylvania were children. - -In 1918 investigators of the children’s bureau of the Department of -Labor reported that the number of minors employed in factories, mines -and quarries has increased at a rapid rate since the U. S. Supreme -Court, on June 5th, 1918, nullified the child-labor act of 1916 as -unconstitutional. Not only are a greatly increased number of children -employed, but they are kept at work longer hours than before. Since the -future of such children as well as the future of the country depend to a -very great extent upon what legislators do in regard to children, it is -obvious that women are deeply concerned in this question.— - -The need of women’s participation in government and of an “occasional -house-cleaning” in the Legislatures as well as in the Municipal -Administrations becomes evident, when we realize that one of the most -revolting crimes is committed daily in our communities, quite often with -the silent protection of corrupt officials and politicians. We refer to -the =White Slave Trade=. As few people have any definite idea of its -extent and terrors, some authentic facts are here given, which, at the -same time, demonstrate men’s indifference as well as the urgent need of -woman’s interference for its suppression. - -As everybody knows, the traffic in young girls for purposes of -prostitution is as old as humanity. It has flourished in all ages and in -all countries. But it was during the 19th Century that it found its -systematic organization and its most extensive development. - -With alarming frequency, the papers report that some young woman or girl -is “missing,” having stepped out of her home on some household errand, -and from this moment having vanished as though swallowed by the earth. -Such was the case of Dorothy Arnold, who some years ago left her cosy -home in New York, to do some shopping in a department store. She never -returned and no trace of her was ever discovered. This particular case -attracted wide attention all over the United States, as Miss Arnold, a -beautiful girl of eighteen, was the daughter of wealthy parents, who -spent a fortune in desperate but futile attempts to recover their -child.— - -Every year hundreds of similar cases occur in our country, some in San -Francisco, some in New York, Baltimore, St. Louis, Chicago and -elsewhere. If the exact number of such missing girls could be known, the -public might well be shocked; and horrified if it would know the sad lot -that befalls the majority of these unfortunate girls. Where efforts to -ascertain their fate have met with success, it was found that in ninety -out of a hundred cases such girls became victims of the most detestable -fiends on earth, human ghouls, who make fortunes by luring innocent and -inexperienced women into the most degrading slavery. - -There were many events that favored the development of the white slave -trade. The discovery of gold in California and the construction of many -transcontinental railroads were followed by the opening of the rich -mining- and lumber-districts in the northwestern and western parts of -the United States, and in Canada. In more recent years came the opening -of the gold and diamond fields in South Africa, of the gold grounds in -Alaska, the construction of the Panama Canal and the great -transcontinental railroads through Siberia and Africa. All these great -undertakings attracted many thousands of men, who were ready to squander -their earnings in gambling, drinking and any other kind of dissipation. -Women, of course, stood at the head of things in demand. And as there -are always people eager to profit by catering to such passions, the -white slave trade assumed most threatening proportions. - -To ensnare victims, the slave dealers insert enticing advertisements -offering profitable positions to waitresses, chambermaids, servants, -governesses, and other female help in hotels, boarding houses and -private families. They send their “procurers” or agents to the -dance-halls and cheap pleasure resorts, and to those industrial towns, -where large numbers of poorly paid young girls toil in mills and -factories. Here they approach their prey under all kinds of disguises -and pretenses. One especially ingenious procurer of New York has been -credited with gaining the acquaintance of young girls in the garb of a -priest. And George Kibbe Turner in an article “The Daughters of the -Poor” (published in 1910 in McClure’s Magazine) made the statement that -a gang of such fiends worked under the name “The New York Independent -Benevolent Association”! - -However, the chief recruiting-grounds for the white slave trade are the -miserable Jewish Ghettos of Poland, Russia, Galicia, Hungary, Austria -and Roumania, where always numbers of degraded men can be found, ready -to sell their own kindred for any price offered. With the help of such -procurers four principal centers of the white slave trade were created: -Lemberg, London, Paris and New York, with branches in all parts of -America, Africa and Asia. - -Of course such a villainous trade would not be possible without the -silent protection of corrupt officials and political machines, who share -in its enormous profits. Inside information on this subject was received -through the disclosures, made during the latter parts of the last -century about conditions in the mining and lumber regions of Michigan -and Wisconsin. In January, 1887, Representative Breen appeared before -the House Judiciary Committee of the legislature of Michigan and stated -the existence of a regular trade in young and innocent girls for -purposes of prostitution between Chicago, Duluth and other cities with -the mining and lumber districts south of Lake Superior. As he said that -the horrors of the camps into which these girls were lured beggared -description, several newspapers, among them the “Chicago Herald” and -“The New York World,” dispatched representatives, disguised as woodmen, -to those regions to investigate the truth of these statements. They -found that almost without exception the girls, kept in these camps, had -been secured under promise of respectable employment. The houses, in -which they were imprisoned, were surrounded by stockades twenty or -thirty feet in height, the one door guarded night and day by a man with -a rifle, while within were a number of bulldogs to prevent the girls -from escaping. In the largest of such lumber camps dens from twenty to -seventy-five girls were found. - -On January 24, 1887, the “New York World” published the story of an -unfortunate girl, who had been lured by an advertisement to work in a -lumberman’s hotel in the North. Believing the position to be -respectable, she went there, but after her arrival at the place she was -taken to a rough two-story building surrounded by a slab fence twenty -feet high, within which was a cordon of bulldogs, thirteen in number, -chained to iron stakes driven into the ground. In this place she was -compelled, like all the other girls, of which there were always from -eleven to thirty, to drink and dance with the men of the mining and -lumber camps. They were not permitted to refuse any request of those -visitors. A complaint of any kind, even of sickness, meant a whipping, -frequently with a rawhide upon the naked body, sometimes with the butt -of a revolver. When the log drives were going on, there would be -hundreds of men there night and day, not human beings, but fiends. - -“Oh, it was awful, awful!” cried the girl after her release. “I would -rather stay in prison until I die than go back there for one day. I -tried to escape three times and was caught. They unchained the dogs and -let them get so near me that I cried out in terror and begged them to -take the dogs away and I would go back. Then, of course, I was beaten. I -tried, too, to smuggle out notes to the Sheriff through visitors, but -they would take them to the proprietor instead, and he would pay for -them. Once I did get a note to the Deputy Sheriff at Florence, -Wisconsin, and he came and inquired. But the proprietor gave him $50, -and he went away. I was awfully beaten then. While I lived this life, -from March until September, two inmates died, both from brutal -treatment. They were as good as murdered. Nearly all the girls came -without knowing the character of the house, and first implored to get -away. The county officers came to the places to drink and dance with the -girls. They are controlled by a rich man in Iron Mountain, who owns -these houses and rents them for $100 a month.” - -That the den keepers were always on good terms with the officials, -appears also from the following report of the “Chicago Herald” of April -17, 1892, in which attention is called to the continuance of the -horrible conditions in the mining- and lumber-camps. “Four years ago, -when “The Herald” exposed the pinery dens, Marinette was known as the -wickedest city in the country. It was the rendezvous of every species of -bad men. Thugs, thieves and gamblers practically held possession of the -town. Their influence was felt in all municipal affairs. Certain -officers of the law seemed in active sympathy with them, and it was -almost impossible to secure the arrest and conviction of men guilty of -infamous crimes. Dives of the vilest character ran open on the outskirts -of the town. Their inmates, recruited from all parts of the country by -the subtle arts of well known procurers, were kept in a state of abject -slavery. Iron balls and chains, suffocating cords and the whistling lash -were used on refractory girls and women. Bodies of ill-starred victims -were sometimes found in the woods, but the discovery was rarely followed -by investigation. The dive keepers were wealthy and knew how to ease the -conscience of any over-zealous officer.” - -Another report states: “Many den-keepers wield a powerful influence in -the local elections; one of the worst of such, after paying the -constable $12 for the return of a girl who had tried to escape, beat her -with a revolver until tired and was then only prevented by a woodman -from turning loose a bulldog upon her; but such was his political -influence that he was elected justice of the peace the following -spring!”— - -About the same time, at a session of the National Social Purity Congress -held in Baltimore, the following statement was made: “Of the 230,000 -erring girls in this country, over half have been snared or sold into -their lives of shame. Their average life is five years. Forty-six -thousand are carted out to Potters Field every year. Over one hundred -American homes have to be desolated every day to recruit the ranks of -shame. Isn’t it time for somebody to try to save these girls from -falling into those dens of iniquity? Twenty million Christians can -rescue 230,000 erring girls, or surely the religion of Jesus Christ is a -failure.” - -Terrible happenings, as for instance the murder of Ruth Cruger of New -York in 1917, and similar cases in February and March, 1919, have -disclosed that gangs of white slave traders still exist in America and -do a flourishing business. The prices paid to agents depend upon the -girl’s youth and beauty, ranging from $20 to $1000, and even more. - -The enormous and thoroughly organized traffic in girl-children in -England was exposed by the revelations of the “Pall Mall Gazette,” which -roused the people to earnest efforts against this commerce and secured -the formation of the “Society for the Prevention of Traffic in English -Girls.” In giving details of this traffic the paper said: - -“London, the great metropolis of Christian England, the largest city of -ancient and modern times, is acknowledged by statisticians and -sociologists to be the point where crime, vice, despair, and misery are -found in their deepest depth and greatest diversity. Not Babylon of old, -whose name is the synonym of all that is vile; not Rome, “Mother of -Harlots,” not Corinth, in whose temple a thousand girls were kept for -prostitution in service of God, not the most savage lands in all their -barbarity have ever shown a thousandth part of the human woe to be found -in the city of London, that culmination of modern Christian -civilization. The nameless crimes of Sodom and Gomorrah, the vileness of -ancient Greece, which garnered its most heroic men, its most profound -philosophers, are but amusements among young men of the highest rank in -England; West End, the home of rank and wealth, of university education, -being the central hell of this extended radius of vice.” - -As in many countries priests and police departments have failed to stop -this heinous traffic in young girls, women must step in, and, by their -votes, must place such legislators and police commissioners in office, -that proper laws and their strict enforcement can be expected. - -In Germany the “white slave trade” is practically unknown. For many -years two women associations have existed,—a Protestant and a -Catholic,—whose representatives, recognizable by distinct arm bands, -patrol all important railway stations, in order to furnish correct -information to incoming girls who are looking for positions, and to -escort them to the homes of the associations, where they may stay till -respectable places have been found for them. - -It is obvious, that the problems connected with the temperance question, -child-labor and the white slave trade are of vital importance to every -woman and mother. Salvation must come through the woman’s ballot. They -must defend themselves and their children as men have done: by -co-operating in the elections, by controlling those that make the laws, -and by controlling those who are appointed to enforce them. - - * * * * * - -A few words may be said in regard to the claim that woman would cease to -vote “after the novelty of her new toy had worn off.” Statistics as well -as the testimony of competent observers confute this claim. In all -states where women enjoy full suffrage, they have shown themselves eager -to vote. In Idaho the Chief Justice and all the justices of the State -Supreme Court signed a statement that “the large vote cast by the women -establishes the fact that they take a lively interest.” In Wyoming, -Colorado and other full suffrage states it has been observed that 90 per -cent. of the women vote. - -In Australia, in 1903, at the first national election in which women -took part, 359,315 women voted; in 1906, 431,033; in 1910, 601,946. - -In New Zealand the number has increased at each triennial parliamentary -election. In 1893 90,290 women voted; in 1896, 108,793; in 1899, -119,550; in 1902, 138,565; in 1905, 175,046; in 1908, 190,114; in 1911, -221,858. - -The following is a testimonial from Sir Joseph Ward, Prime Minister of -New Zealand, in regard to Woman Suffrage in practice: - - - Prime Minister’s Office, - Wellington, Oct. 17th, 1907. - -Woman Suffrage exists in New Zealand because it dawned upon the minds of -thinking men that they were daily wasting an almost unlimited supply of -mental and moral force. From the time their baby hands had found support -and safety by holding the folds of their mother’s gowns, they had -trusted the happiness of their lives hourly to the common sense, the -purity and the sympathy of women. Strange to say, in one department of -life alone, and that perhaps the most important, viz.: the political, -had they denied the right of speech and of direct influence to women. -Men of different countries had for centuries preached and written of -evils which deformed their systems of Government and even tainted the -aspirations of statesmen for just laws within the state, and equitable -relations abroad. Nevertheless these men neglected, or refused to avail -themselves of the support and counsel of women’s hearts and women’s -brains, which they accepted on other matters. Indeed, they were ready to -listen to foolish arguments against the idea of women entering political -life; such as: women would lose their grace, modesty, and love of home -if they voted; since they could not be soldiers, they had no right to -control questions of peace and war. - -In New Zealand we have not found that making a “pencil mark on a voting -paper” once in three years has resulted in any loss of grace or beauty -among our women, or even in neglect of home duties. On the contrary the -women’s vote has had a distinctly clarifying effect on the process of -elections. The old evil memories of election day, the ribaldry, the -fighting, have been succeeded by a decorous gravity befitting people -exercising their highest national privilege. When the contention, that -women should not be entitled to vote because they cannot bear arms, is -used by one whose mother could only make his life and citizenship -possible by passing through pain and danger greater than the average -soldier has to face, it becomes inconsistently ridiculous. Besides, many -men (clergymen, government officials, etc., etc.), are exempt from -actual military service, and that fact has never been used to deprive -them of a vote. The main argument, however, which weighed with us, was -that of right, of abstract right. If the foundation of government is the -consent of the governed, it appears monstrously unfair that one half of -the population should not be represented or have any share in it. -Therefore, after long and grave consideration, we gave our women an -equal right with men in deciding on the qualifications of candidates to -represent them in Parliament. - -We have no reason to regret the decision. I feel confident that if any -great crisis in national morals should arise, the women’s vote would -press with irresistable weight in the direction of clean, honest and -efficient legislation. New Zealand has not repented having abolished set -disqualifications among those men and women who have unitedly helped to -build the foundations of a nation. I write as one who advocated the -extension of the franchise to women before my entry into Parliament -twenty years ago. I have always supported it in Parliament, and, while -closely watching its effect, have never seen any genuine cause for -believing that it has not worked for the good of the Dominion. - - -Similar testimonials have been given by the governors of all Western -States of the Union. - -Governor Bryant B. Brooks of Wyoming said: “Nothing can be so far from -the truth as the idea that Woman Suffrage has the slightest tendency to -disrupt the home. Indeed it has the very opposite effect. As a result of -it politics is talked freely in the family circle, and political -questions are settled by intelligent discussion. This has a great and -good influence on the growing generation. The children grow up in an -atmosphere that encourages intelligent consideration and debate of -public problems, and are thus better equipped to deal with public -questions when they reach voting age.” - -Governor Shafroth of Colorado said: “Our State has Woman Suffrage for -many years, and has found it of inestimable benefit to her people,” and -Governor James H. Brady of Idaho said: “Woman Suffrage has been an -unqualified success, not only in Idaho, but in all Western States -adopting the principle.” - -[Illustration: - - PREPARING BANDAGES. -] - - - WOMAN’S ACTIVITY DURING THE WORLD WAR. - -When in August, 1914, the most dreadful disaster that ever befell -humanity burst upon the European nations, women at first stood paralyzed -with fear and terror, foreseeing the tremendous burden and sacrifices -they would have to bear. But after every hope for a peaceful solution -had vanished and nothing remained but to face the inevitable, they -rallied and prepared to weather the coming hurricane. - -The manner in which they met it during the long and terrible years of -1914, 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918 was perhaps the greatest revelation the -world has ever experienced. Never before have members of the “weaker -sex” braved such a catastrophe more heroically and made such supreme -sacrifices. In fact, woman’s activity during the World War has been a -grand manifestation, which stands out in glorious colors from a black -background of man’s hatred, revengefulness, slander, calumniation, -treason, avarice, atrocities, and murder. - -When the vast armies were mobilized it became necessary to close the -innumerable gaps caused by the sudden drafting and departure of so many -million men. To refill the positions they had occupied, was the most -urgent necessity, as otherwise the whole machinery of national life -would become disorganized, and that at the most critical time. - -At once immense numbers of women and girls responded to the call. They -went into the tramway and railway service to act as ticket sellers and -punchers, as conductors, brakemen and motormen. They replaced the letter -carriers and chauffeurs; they climbed the lofty seats formerly occupied -by cab-drivers and postilions. Mounting motor-cycles they delivered -telegrams and performed other urgent errands. They formed -street-cleaning and fire-brigades and took care of the sanitation and -protection of the cities. In the offices and stores they assumed the -duties of the bookkeeper and floor-walker; in the schools they -substituted for male teachers who had followed the call of the war -trumpet. They repaired telegraph-wires and installed telephones; they -became blacksmiths and repaired the roofs of houses. They cleaned -windows and chimneys, delivered newspapers and carried the coal from the -wagon into the bins and bunkers. They acted as “ice-men” and collected -the garbage and ashes. They tilled the fields and vegetable gardens, and -brought in the crops and the harvests. They thrashed the wheat and -served in the mills as well as in the bakeries. They furnished clothes, -and made and mended shoes. They finished the public roads and other -works that had been left uncompleted. They built houses and tore down -others. In Berlin the excavation for a new underground railway, badly -needed, was done by women, and half of the gangs that worked on the -railroad tracks were made up of girls. - -[Illustration: - - WOMEN FILLING SHELLS IN A BRITISH AMMUNITION FACTORY. -] - -In England as well as in France and Germany thousands of women could be -seen in the ship-yards working side by side with men on the scaffolds, -at bolting and riveting, forging and casting, as if they had always done -this work. In fact, women did everything that heretofore had been -regarded as “man’s work.” - -But they did much more. Hundreds of thousands of women entered the gun- -and ammunition factories in order that the armies might not lack ample -means for the defense of the country. - -[Illustration: - - WOMEN IN A SHELL FACTORY. -] - -Donning overalls, oil-cloth caps and gas masks they became engaged in -the hazardous manufacture of high explosives, of filling and packing the -deadly gas-shells and other projectiles. At the same time millions of -busy hands prepared the bandages and other necessities for the treatment -of the wounded. Whole brigades of Red Cross nurses were formed and went -to the battlefields and hospitals, to attend those who in the grim -conflict might lose their limbs, their eye-sight, or become sufferers -from the effect of poisonous gases. - -All too soon long trains and hospital-ships brought in such -unfortunates, at first a few hundred, then in ever increasing numbers, -by the thousands and by tens of thousands. Within a few months most of -the countries engaged in the dreadful struggle were turned into immense -hospitals, filled with moaning and suffering. What noble and -indefatigable women did here to alleviate this misery and distress, can -never be fully told and will never be forgotten. Whoever was witness of -the self-control and perseverance shown year after year by many Red -Cross nurses will always think of them with reverence. - -There is not a single Army Medical Corps of the many nations engaged in -the World War, which does not freely admit, that the immense amount of -work could not have been done without the help of women. In a tribute to -the Red Cross Major-General Merritte W. Ireland, Surgeon-General U. S. -Army, said: - -“Probably the greatest single service rendered by the Red Cross home -forces was the supply of trained nurses it furnished our hospitals. The -Army Medical Corps trains a few nurses, but could never hope to turn out -the large number provided through Miss Delano’s department. If we needed -a thousand nurses for a given work, we telegraphed the War Department. -The War Department notified Miss Delano. And the nurses arrived on -schedule. - -“An especially notable service rendered by Red Cross nurses occurred -during the early American campaign when our men were brigaded with -French divisions. When wounded, they were, of course, taken to French -hospitals. Unable to answer questions or tell their needs, they were in -a very unhappy plight. Scores of Red Cross nurses speaking both French -and English were immediately sent to these hospitals—and the problem was -solved. - -“The work of the Red Cross was often the theme of discussions at -American General Headquarters at Chaumont. I remember that it was -enlarged upon there in a conversation between General Pershing, Mr. H. -P. Davison, the Chairman of the War Council of the American Red Cross, -and myself. We were speaking of the value of the service rendered by the -millions of our women and how they helped keep the influence of home -about the boys at the front. And General Pershing said: “The women of -the United States deserve a large share of the credit for the success of -the American forces.” - -“Our Army officers have often admired not only the spirit but the -efficiency of the American Red Cross organization. It provided an -inexhaustible store of supplies; it possessed a remarkable facility for -adapting itself to any emergency, however unexpected; and its personnel -always evinced the finest readiness for co-operation. The millions of -surgical dressings, knitted articles, refugee garments, and other -supplies it contributed—for these things alone it would have deserved -the Army’s unstinted praise. All the splints used in all our hospitals -in France, both of the Army and of the Red Cross, came from the Red -Cross. It furnished more than a quarter of a billion surgical dressings. -It sent over enough sweaters for every man in our overseas forces to -possess one.” - -Similar tributes have been freely extended to the nurses of all other -Red Cross branches, which co-operated with the Medical Corps of the -various powers engaged in the terrible war. - -[Illustration: - - A GOOD SAMARITAN. -] - -While performing their merciful work, many women had to bear the -depressing anxiety caused by husbands, sons, or brothers, fighting in -the trenches or on the ocean; or for those unfortunates who as prisoners -had fallen into the hands of the enemy. - -The women of the Central powers had to face many additional problems of -the most perplexing nature. As the soil of Germany and Austria does not -yield enough to support the whole population, and as all imports of -foodstuffs were cut off by hostile fleets, provisions became more scarce -and more expensive from day to day. There was not sufficient milk to -keep the millions of babies alive; and not enough food to save adults -from slow starvation. To stretch the scant supplies the most careful and -rigid methods of administration had to be invented and applied. Public -kitchens were established to reduce the cost of living to the lowest -point possible. In Berlin twenty-three committees of the National -Women’s Service with several thousand voluntary workers were running -such charitable kitchens, from which tens of thousands regularly -received their daily meals. The same organizations later on supervised -the system of bread-, milk-, grocery- and butter-cards, when the -increasing shortage of food forced the governments to the severest -restrictions. - -Among the many German relief organizations those of the Red Cross took -the leading place. Originally divided into five main sections under the -general control of a central committee and designed to combat of -sickness and destitution in the civil population, it now was increased -to twenty-three divisions. Their welfare work assumed such importance -during the progress of the war that it had to be subdivided into three -groups, the first of which became engaged in fighting tuberculosis and -contagious diseases, the second in the protection of infancy and -motherhood, the third in family welfare work in the narrower meaning of -the term. In all these branches the organization of the Red Cross -provided the framework within which the numerous national, state and -local social activities of the country grouped themselves naturally in -accordance with their separate functions. - -The activity of the organizations during the years 1917, 1918, and 1919, -the dreadful years of general distress and starvation, forms one of the -most pathetic chapters in woman’s history. Not only the food, but the -cotton, wool, leather, rubber, fat, oil, soap, and hundreds of other -necessities gave out completely. People were compelled to live on -substitutes. And as these became too scarce or too expensive, they lived -on substitutes for these substitutes. Imagine the heartrending pain -mothers were bearing when at the end of 1918 and in 1919 large numbers -of mayors of German cities and numerous professors of medicine were -compelled to send urgent appeals for help to all medical faculties of -the world, stating that since the signing of the truce 800,000 people in -Germany had died from starvation. “Many millions of human beings,” one -of the appeals reads, “are living on only half or even less than half -the quantity of food necessary to sustain life. Utterly exhausted they -have lost all power of resistance and succumb to any kind of sickness -that may befall them. The worst sufferers are the children and those -mothers, who fast for the sake of their children. There are too the -neurasthenics of all kinds, the numbers of which have, for four years, -increased immensely. Furthermore, there are the overworked, and those -who have become sick through the unheard-of monotony of food and from -the absolute absence of every stimulant. Their existence becomes more -unbearable from day to day. While the physicians of Germany are -profoundly impressed with the terrible ravages caused by hunger, they -have absolutely no means of combating them.” - - * * * * * - -While during these dreadful times millions of women devoted themselves -to the noble work of healing the terrible wounds and sufferings, other -groups eagerly tried to bring about a cessation of hostilities. -Immediately after the first declaration of war, the “International Woman -Suffrage Alliance” directed an urgent appeal to the British Foreign -Office as well as to all Foreign Embassies in London, to leave untried -no method of conciliation or arbitration to avert the threatening -disaster. Numerous women’s societies in Holland, Sweden, Germany and -Switzerland arose simultaneously and joined the good cause. Soon a great -movement for peace began to sweep through the women of the entire world. - -But women’s efforts to bring the conflict to a standstill lacked as yet -the necessary strength. They were overpowered by the influence and -machinations of those statesmen, financiers, publishers of newspapers -and countless others, who wanted war. And so nothing remained for women -but to repeat ever and again their protests against the madness of men. - -When in December, 1914, suffering Christianity prepared to celebrate the -natal day of the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, a noble-minded woman of -London, =Miss Emily Hobhouse=, wrote the following letter: - - - “To American Women, Friends of Humanity and Peace! - -“Friends:—May I appeal to you in the name of Humanity, on behalf of the -children of Europe, before whom suffering or death has already taken -place, and whose future is fraught with pain? In you lies our hope of -help for them, for you are free to speak and act. - -“Will you not come to our troubled world, unite with the women of other -neutral lands and initiate a crusade—a real ‘holy’ war, fought with the -swords of the Spirit? - -“Appalling as is this massacre of the manhood of Europe, that is not the -worst. As long as men adopt barbaric methods of settling disputes they -must abide by the consequences; but for those innocent victims, the -non-combatants—women, babes, old and sick—I crave your help. Their names -and numbers will never be known. They are multiplying in Poland and -Galicia, in Belgium and France, in East Prussia and Holland, and -elsewhere. Ponder this vast host, voiceless, suffering, dying, crouching -beside their blackened ruins or fleeing from the devastated areas both -east and west. Think of disease let loose, of the horrors of cold and -famine! - -“I know it is not easy to visualize details of conditions so foreign to -average experience. It needs a mental effort few can make. It is because -I was daily witness of such things in the South African War that I dare -not be silent. Disease, devastation, starvation and death were words I -then learned as war interprets them. I saw a country burnt and -devastated as large parts of Europe are to-day; I saw old and sick, -women and children turned out of house and home; I saw them, half clad, -starving, lying sick to death upon the bare earth; I saw babies that -were born in open, crowded trucks; I saw haggard, endless sick, gaunt -skeletons, hourly deaths. There in the Boer States death swept away -non-combatants in the proportion of five to one of those who fell in the -field. - -“It is because I know the brunt of this war, too, is falling and must -fall, heaviest upon the weak and young, that I appeal now on their -behalf, not merely to those who love peace, but to the great body of -women who love children. Little children, more sensitive to exposure, to -extremes of heat and cold, to tainted food, to starvation, and to the -stench, the poisonous stench of war, quickly fade, quickly die. - -“Will you not arise and work for peace?—For peace alone can save the -children. It would be, I well know, a struggle against powers of -darkness and will need the whole armor of God. Yet every sentiment of -pity and of civilization, leave alone Christianity, demands the effort. -The victims cannot help themselves; succor must come from without. - -“Relief, we know, you pour most generously, but relief cannot meet a -want so colossal, neither can it touch the worst ills. Cut at the root -of the evil—the war itself. A strong lead is needed. Myriads want peace; -they never wanted war. In each country this is true; constant proofs -reach us from Germany and France, as well as various parts of England. -The press of each nation asserts that the people are unanimous for war. -It is not so, but those who have the means of speaking, and who swim -with their governmental streams, can speak the loudest and alone are -heard. Many dare not, many cannot speak. Others make a truce and save -thousands of human lives and receive the blessings of thousands of wives -and mothers. - -“A union of neutral women could investigate the facts of the sufferings -amongst non-combatants, and founded upon acquired personal knowledge -they could in the name of Humanity formulate demands persistent, cogent, -irresistible, not in favor of any one party or nation, but simply for -Peace. - -“It seems futile to turn to statesmen, governments or prelates for aid. -They are tied and bound by position, custom and mutual fear. They await -propitious movements. Famine, disease and death do not wait. - -“=Women have this advantage: they are still unfettered by custom and -expediency; they need consult only the dictates of humanity. If ever the -world needed their intervention on a vast scale, it needs it now!= - -“Failure in such a task would have no fears for them; failure in a noble -effort is often a measure to success! The greatest have seemed to fail. -Judged by human standards, Christ’s life on earth was a failure. =The -effort in any case would leave its mark upon the thought and history of -the world. Womanhood will have arisen in vindication of a higher -humanity—to avenge desolated motherhood and protect martyred children; -it will have asserted its right to shield the weak and young from the -fatal results of the organized murder called war.=” - - -[Illustration: - - MISS JANE ADDAMS. -] - -The appeal was not made in vain. The day after its receipt a number of -prominent American women called a convention in Washington, D. C., on -January 10th, 1915. =Miss Jane Addams= of Chicago acted as chairman. The -result of this meeting was the organization of the “=Woman’s Peace -Party=,” which adopted the following - - - Preamble and Platform. - -“We women of the United States, assembled in behalf of World Peace, -grateful for the security of our own country, but sorrowing for the -misery of all involved in the present struggle among warring nations, do -hereby band ourselves together to demand that war be abolished. - -“Equally with men pacifists, we understand that planned-for, legalized, -wholesale, human slaughter is to-day the sum of all villainies. - -“=As women, we feel a peculiar moral passion of revolt against both the -cruelty and the waste of war. As women, we are especially the custodians -of the life of the ages.= We will not longer consent to its reckless -destruction. - -“=As women, we are particularly charged with the future of childhood and -with the care of the helpless and the unfortunate.= We will not longer -endure without protest that added burden of maimed and invalid men and -poverty-stricken widows and orphans which war places upon us. - -“=As women, we have builded by the patient drudgery of the past the -basic foundation of the home and of peaceful industry.= We will not -longer accept without a protest, that must be heard and heeded by men, -that hoary evil which in an hour destroys the social structure that -centuries of toil have reared. - -“=As women, we are called upon to start each generation onward toward a -better humanity.= We will not longer tolerate without determined -opposition that denial of the sovereignty of reason and justice by which -war and all that makes war to-day render impotent the idealism of the -race. - -“Therefore, as human beings and the mother half of humanity, we demand -that our right to be consulted in the settlement of questions concerning -not alone the life of individuals but of nations be recognized and -respected. - -“We demand that women be given a share in deciding between war and peace -in all the courts of high debate—within the home, the school, the -church, the industrial order, and the state. - -“So protesting, and so demanding, we hereby form ourselves into a -national organization to be called the =Woman’s Peace Party=. - -“We hereby adopt the following as our platform of principles, some of -the items of which have been accepted by a majority vote, and more of -which have been the unanimous choice of those attending the conference -that initiated the formation of this organization. We have sunk all -differences of opinion on minor matters and given freedom of expression -to a wide divergence of opinion in the details of our platform and in -our statement of explanation and information, in a common desire to make -our woman’s protest against war and all that makes for war, vocal, -commanding and effective. We welcome to our membership all who are in -substantial sympathy with that fundamental purpose of our organization, -whether or not they can accept in full our detailed statement of -principles. - - - Platform. - -“The Purpose of this Organization is to enlist all American women in -arousing the nations to respect the sacredness of human life and to -abolish war. The following is adopted as our platform: - - 1. The immediate calling of a convention of neutral nations in the - interest of early peace. - - 2. Limitation of armaments and the nationalization of their - manufacture. - - 3. Organized opposition to militarism in our own country. - - 4. Education of youth in the ideals of peace. - - 5. Democratic control of foreign policies. - - 6. The further humanizing of governments by the extension of the - franchise to women. - - 7. “Concert of Nations” to supersede “Balance of Power.” - - 8. Action toward the gradual organization of the world to substitute - Law for War. - - 9. The substitution of an international police for rival armies and - navies. - - 10. Removal of the economic causes of war. - - 11. The appointment by our Government of a commission of men and women, - with an adequate appropriation, to promote international peace.” - -In the meantime women of other countries had not remained idle. =Dr. -Aletta H. Jacobs=, President of the Dutch National Society for Woman -Suffrage, directed a letter to the most prominent women societies of -various nations, saying that it was of the greatest importance to bring -those women, representing the women societies of the world, together in -an =international meeting in a neutral country=, to show “that in =these -dreadful times, in which so much hate has been spread among the -different nations, the women at least retained their solidarity and that -they were able to maintain mutual friendship=.” At the same time she -suggested to hold this International Congress in Holland, and offered to -make the necessary arrangements. - -While many women welcomed this first effort to renew international -relations it was only natural that, especially in belligerent countries, -a fierce criticism should be directed against this daring move. This -criticism came even from some of the women’s organizations. “It was to -be impossible to hold the Congress! No one would attend! Even if the -Congress were held the nationalities would quarrel amongst themselves!” -But those who had undertaken the work were not deterred by this -criticism, but encouraged by many enthusiastic responses. The -announcement that Miss Jane Addams had accepted the invitation to -preside at the Congress gave courage to all who were working for it. And -so the memorable “=International Congress of Women for Permanent Peace=” -came to pass. It was held at the Hague from April 28 to May 1, 1915, and -attended by 1136 delegates and a large number of visitors. The countries -represented were Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Great -Britain, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United -States of America. - -In her address of Welcome, Dr. Aletta H. Jacobs, the President of the -Executive Committee, said: “In arranging this International Congress we -have naturally had to put aside all thoughts of a festive reception, we -have simply endeavored to receive you in such a way that you may feel -assured of our sympathy, our mutual sisterly feelings, our goodwill to -link the nations together again in the bonds of fellowship and trustful -co-operation. - -“With mourning in our hearts we stand united here. We grieve for the -many brave young men, who have lost their lives in barbaric fratricide -before even attaining their full manhood; we mourn with the poor mothers -bereft of their sons; with thousands and thousands of young widows and -fatherless children; we will not endure in this Twentieth Century -civilization, that governments shall longer tolerate brute force as the -only method of solving their international disputes. The culture of -centuries standing and the progress of science must no longer be -recklessly employed to perfect the implements of modern warfare. The -accumulated knowledge, handed down to us through the ages, must no -longer be used to kill and to destroy and to annihilate the products of -centuries of toil. - -“Our cry of protest must be heard at last. Too long already has the -mother-heart of woman suffered in silence. O, I know and feel most -strongly, that it is impossible that a world-fire, such as has been -blazing forth for the last nine months, can be extinguished, until the -last bit of inflamable material has been reduced to ashes, but I also -feel most strongly that we must raise our voices now, if the new era of -civilization that will arise from these ashes is to rest upon a more -substantial basis, a basis on which the women with their inherent -conserving and pacific qualities shall have the opportunity to assist -men in conducting the world’s affairs. - -“We women judge war differently from men. Men consider in the first -place its economic results. What it costs in money, its loss or its gain -to national commerce and industries, the extension of power and so -forth. But what is material loss to us women, in comparison to the -number of fathers, brothers, husbands and sons who march out to war -never to return. We women consider above all the damage to the race -resulting from war, and the grief, the pain and misery it entails. We -know only too well that whatever may be gained by a war, it is not worth -the bloodshed and the tears, the cruel sufferings, the wasted lives, the -agony and despair it has caused. - -“Important as are the economic interests of a country, the interests of -the race are more vital. And, since by virtue of our womanhood, these -interests are to us of greater sanctity and value, women must have a -voice in the governments of all countries. - -“Not until women can bring direct influence to bear upon Governments, -not until in the parliaments the voice of the women is heard mingling -with that of the men, shall we have the power to prevent recurrence of -such catastrophes. - -“The Governments of the world, based on the insight of the half of -humanity, have failed to find a right solution of how to settle -international disputes. We therefore feel it more and more strongly, -that it is the duty, the sacred duty of every woman, to stand up now and -claim her share with men in the government of the world. Only when women -are in the parliaments of all nations, only when women have a political -voice and vote, will they have the power effectively to demand that -international disputes shall be solved as they ought to be, by a court -of arbitration or conciliation. Therefore on a programme of the -conditions whereby wars in future may be avoided, the question of woman -suffrage should not be lacking, on the contrary, it should have the -foremost place. - -“May this Congress be the dawn of a better world, a world in which each -realizes that it is good to serve one’s own country, but that above the -interests of one’s Country stand the interests of humanity, by serving -which a still higher duty is fulfilled.”— - -The business sessions, presided over by Miss Jane Addams, led to the -adoption of the following resolutions: - - - I. WOMEN AND WAR. - - -1. Protest. - -We women, in International Congress assembled, protest against the -madness and the horror of war, involving as it does a reckless sacrifice -of human life and the destruction of so much that humanity has labored -through centuries to build up. - - -2. Women’s Sufferings in War. - -This International Congress of Women opposes the assumption that women -can be protected under the conditions of modern warfare. It protests -vehemently against the odious wrongs of which women are the victims in -time of war, and especially against the horrible violation of women -which attends all war. - - - II. ACTION TOWARDS PEACE. - - -3. The Peace Settlement. - -This International Congress of Women of different nations, classes, -creeds and parties is united in expressing sympathy with the suffering -of all, whatever their nationality, who are fighting for their country -or laboring under the burden of war. - -Since the mass of the people in each of the countries now at war believe -themselves to be fighting, not as aggressors but in self-defence and for -their national existence, there can be no irreconcilable differences -between them, and their common ideals afford a basis upon which a -magnanimous and honorable peace might be established. The Congress -therefore urges the Governments of the world to put an end to this -bloodshed, and to begin peace negotiations. It demands that the peace -which follows shall be permanent and therefore based on principles of -justice, including those laid down in the resolutions 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 -adopted by this Congress. - - -4. Continuous Mediation. - -This International Congress of Women resolves to ask the neutral -countries to take immediate steps to create a conference of neutral -nations which shall without delay offer continuous mediation. The -Conference shall invite suggestions for settlement from each of the -belligerent nations and in any case shall submit to all of them -simultaneously, reasonable proposals as a basis of peace. - - - III. PRINCIPLES OF A PERMANENT PEACE. - - -5. Respect for Nationality. - -This International Congress of Women, recognizing the right of the -people to self-government, affirms that there should be no transference -of territory without the consent of the men and women residing therein, -and urges that autonomy and a democratic parliament should not be -refused to any people. - - -6. Arbitration and Conciliation. - -This International Congress of Women, believing that war is the negation -of progress and civilization, urges the governments of all nations to -come to an agreement to refer future international disputes to -arbitration and conciliation. - - -7. International Pressure. - -This International Congress of Women urges the governments of all -nations to come to an agreement to unite in bringing social, moral and -economic pressure to bear upon any country, which resorts to arms -instead of referring its case to arbitration or conciliation. - - -8. Democratic Control of Foreign Policy. - -Since War is commonly brought about not by the mass of the people, who -do not desire it, but by groups representing particular interests, this -International Congress of Women urges that Foreign Politics shall be -subject to Democratic Control; and declares that it can only recognize -as democratic a system which includes the equal representation of men -and women. - - -9. The Enfranchisement of Women. - -Since the combined influence of the women of all countries is one of the -strongest forces for the prevention of war, and since women can only -have full responsibility and effective influence when they have equal -political rights with men, this International Congress of Women demands -their political enfranchisement. - - - IV. INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION. - - -10. Third Hague Conference. - -This International Congress of Women urges that a third Hague Conference -be convened immediately after the war. - - -11. International Organization. - -This International Congress of Women urges that the organization of the -Society of Nations should be further developed on the basis of a -constructive peace, and that it should include: - -_a._ As a development of the Hague Court of Arbitration, a permanent -International Court of Justice to settle questions or differences of a -justifyable character, such as arise on the interpretation of treaty -rights or of the law of nations. - -_b._ As a development of the constructive work of the Hague Conference, -a permanent International Conference holding regular meetings in which -women should take part, to deal not with the rules of warfare but with -practical proposals for further International Co-operation among the -States. This Conference should be so constituted that it could formulate -and enforce those principles of justice, equity and goodwill in -accordance with which the struggles of subject communities could be more -fully recognized and the interests and rights not only of the great -Powers and small Nations but also those of weaker countries and -primitive peoples gradually adjusted under an enlightened international -public opinion. - -This International Conference shall appoint: - -A permanent Council of Conciliation and Investigation for the settlement -of international differences arising from economic competition, -expanding commerce, increasing population and changes in social and -political standards. - - -12. General Disarmament. - -The International Congress of Women, advocating universal disarmament -and realizing that it can only be secured by international agreement, -urges, as a step to this end, that all countries should, by such an -international agreement, take over the manufacture of arms and munitions -of war and should control all international traffic in the same. It sees -in the private profits accruing from the great armament factories a -powerful hindrance to the abolition of war. - - -13. Commerce and Investments. - -_a._ The International Congress of Women urges that in all countries -there shall be liberty of commerce, that the seas shall be free and the -trade routes open on equal terms to the shipping of all nations. - -_b._ Inasmuch as the investment by capitalists of one country in the -resources of another and the claims arising therefrom are a fertile -source of international complications, this International Congress of -Women urges the widest possible acceptance of the principle that such -investments shall be made at the risk of the investor, without claim to -the official protection of his government. - - -14. National Foreign Policy. - -_a._ This International Congress of Women demands that all secret -treaties shall be void and that for the ratification of future treaties, -the participation of at least the legislature of every government shall -be necessary. - -_b._ This International Congress of Women recommends that National -Commissions be created, and International Conferences convened for the -scientific study and elaboration of the principles and conditions of -permanent peace, which might contribute to the development of an -International Federation. - -These Commissions and Conferences should be recognized by the -Governments and should include women in their deliberations. - - -15. Women in National and International Politics. - -This International Congress of Women declares it to be essential, both -nationally and internationally, to put into practice the principle that -women should share all civil and political rights and responsibilities -on the same terms as men. - - - V. THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. - - -=16.= This International Congress of Women urges the necessity of so -directing the education of children that their thoughts and desires may -be directed towards the ideal of constructive peace. - - - VI. WOMEN AND THE PEACE SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE. - - -=17.= This International Congress of Women urges, that in the interests -of lasting peace and civilization the Conference which shall frame the -Peace settlement after the war should pass a resolution affirming the -need in all countries of extending the parliamentary franchise to women. - - -=18.= This International Congress of Women urges that representatives of -the people should take part in the conference that shall frame the peace -settlement after the war, and claims that amongst them women should be -included. - - - VII. ACTION TO BE TAKEN. - - -19. Women’s Voice in the Peace Settlement. - -This International Congress of Women resolves that an international -meeting of women shall be held in the same place and at the same time as -the Conference of the Powers which shall frame the terms of the peace -settlement after the war for the purpose of presenting practical -proposals to that Conference. - - -20. Envoys to the Governments. - -In order to urge the Governments of the world to put an end to this -bloodshed and to establish a just and lasting peace, this International -Congress of Women delegates envoys to carry the message expressed in the -Congress Resolutions to the rulers of the belligerent and neutral -nations of Europe and to the President of the United States. - -These Envoys shall be women of both neutral and belligerent nations, -appointed by the International Committee of this Congress. They shall -report the result of their missions to the International Women’s -Committee for Constructive Peace as a basis for further action. - - * * * * * - -The memorable Congress adjourned on May 1. In closing the sessions -Miss Addams said: “This is the first International Congress of Women -met in the cause of peace in the necessity brought about by the -greatest war the world has ever seen. For three days we have met -together, so conscious of the bloodshed and desolation surrounding us, -that all irrelevant and temporary matters fell away and we spoke -solemnly to each other of the great and eternal issues as to those who -meet around the bedside of the dying. We have been able to preserve -good will and good fellowship, we have considered in perfect harmony -and straightforwardness the most difficult propositions, and we part -better friends than we met. It seems to me most significant that women -have been able to do this at this moment and that they have done it, -in my opinion, extremely well. - -“We have formulated our message and given it to the world to heed when -it will, confident that at last the great Court of International Opinion -will pass righteous judgment upon all human affairs.”— - -In accordance with Paragraph 20 of the resolutions the members of the -different delegations appointed to present the resolutions to the rulers -of the belligerent and neutral nations of Europe and to the President of -the United States of America began their work on May 7th. Various -delegations with Miss Addams and Dr. Jacobs as speakers, were received -on that day in the Hague by Prime Minister Cort van der Linden; on May -13th and 14th in London by Foreign Minister Sir Edward Grey and Prime -Minister Asquith; on May 21st and 22d in Berlin by Foreign Minister von -Jagow and Chancellor von Bethmann Hollweg; on May 26th in Vienna by -Foreign Minister von Burian; on May 30th in Buda Pest by Prime Minister -von Tisza; on June 2d in Berne by Foreign Minister Hoffmann and -President Motta; on June 4th and 5th in Rome by Foreign Minister -Sonnino, and Prime Minister Salandra; on June 8th by the Pope; on June -12th and 14th in Paris by Foreign Minister Delcassé and Prime Minister -Viviani; and on June 16th in Havre by the Foreign Minister of Belgium, -M. d’Avignon. Other delegations submitted the resolutions to the Prime -Ministers of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Russia. The resolutions were -likewise sent to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of all countries not -visited by the delegates, and to President Woodrow Wilson.— - -That all these efforts by noble-minded women, to secure the cessation of -hostilities, failed, is a grave reproach to those men who directed the -war. Blinded by hate and revenge they insisted that the murderous -struggle be carried on to the bitter end. And to do this unhindered and -unmolested, they decried all “pacifists” as despicable creatures to whom -no attention should be paid. To speak of peace was made a crime, equal -to illoyalty and sedition, and so the resolutions of the Woman’s Peace -Conference were drowned under waves of detraction and calumny. - -One of the most glaring examples of this sort of warfare was that of -=Miss Jeanette Rankin=, who in 1917 had been sent by the State of -Montana as the first woman member to the House of Representatives. Her -first act in this body was very dramatic. When on the memorable April -6th, 1917, the House voted on the question, if the United States should -enter the World War, she answered the call with the words: “I love my -country and I want to stand by it. But I cannot vote for war! No!” After -these words she sank, tears in her eyes, into her chair. Although Miss -Rankin had without doubt expressed the feeling of the overwhelming -majority of American women, she nevertheless excited the wrath of the -notorious “National Security League,” who in 1918 defeated the -re-election of Miss Rankin by sending broadcast to Montana tons of -literature in which her vote against the declaration of war was -stigmatized as an “infamous and damning act.” - -Undaunted by such persecutions the gallant women once more raised their -voices when it became evident that the so-called Peace Congress of the -allied delegates at Versailles, instead of giving quick relief to the -starving millions, and instead of promoting good will and better -understanding among the different nations, was degenerating into an orgy -of autocracy, merciless extortion and land-grabbing, repudiating all the -high-sounding phrases of humanity, democracy, self-government, political -and economic liberty, with which the war had been carried on. - -On May 12th, 1919, delegates of the “International Women’s Party for -Permanent Peace” assembled at Zurich, Switzerland, to discuss the work -of the Peace Congress in Versailles and the movement for a League of -Nations. Sixteen countries were represented, the neutral with -thirty-five, the countries of the Entente with forty-nine, and the -Central Powers with thirty-six delegates. Among the twenty-three -delegates of the United States were Jane Addams, and Jeanette Rankin, -ex-member of Congress for Montana. Again Miss Addams acted as president. - -The noble spirit, that had brought these women together, found -expression first in the following address of the French delegates to the -German women: - -“To-day for the first time our hands which have sought each other in the -night can be joined. We are a single humanity, we women. Our work, our -joys, our children, are the same. French and Germans! The soldiers which -have been killed between are for both of us alike victims. It is our -brothers and our sisters who have suffered. We do not want vengeance. We -hate all war. We push from us both the pride of victory and the rancor -of defeat. United by the same faith, by the same sense of service, we -agree to consecrate ourselves to the fight against war and to the -struggle for everlasting peace. - -“All women against all wars! - -“Come, to work! Publicly, in the face of those who have vowed eternal -hate, let us unite, let us love each other!” - -To this address the German women made the following reply: - -“We German women have heard the greetings of our French sisters with the -deepest joy, and we respond to them from the depths of our souls. We too -protest against the perpetuation of a hate which was always foreign to -women’s hearts. Our French sisters! It is with joy that we grasp your -extended hand. We will stand and march together, in common effort for -the good of mankind. On the ruins of a materialist world, founded by -force and violence, on misunderstanding and hate, we women will, through -death and sorrow, clear the road to the new humanity. As mothers of the -coming generations, we, women of all nations, want love and -understanding and peace. Despite the dark gloom of the present we -stumble, comforted, toward the sunshine of the future.” - -On May the 14th the delegates passed the following resolution, which was -sent to the Congress at Versailles: - -“This International Congress of Women expresses its deep regret that -the terms of peace proposed at Versailles should so seriously violate -the principles upon which alone a just and lasting peace can be -secured, and which the Democracies of the world had come to accept. By -guaranteeing the fruits of the secret treaties to the conquerors the -terms tacitly sanction secret diplomacy. They deny the principle of -self-determination, recognize the right of the victors to the spoils -of war, and create all over Europe discords and animosities, which can -lead only to future wars. By the demand for the disarmament of one set -of belligerents only, the principle of justice is violated and the -rule of force is continued. By the financial and economic proposals a -hundred million people of this generation in the heart of Europe are -condemned to poverty, disease and despair, which must result in the -spread of hatred and anarchy within each nation. With a deep sense of -responsibility this Congress strongly urges the Allied Governments to -accept such amendments of the terms as may be proposed to bring the -peace into harmony with those principles first enunciated by President -Wilson upon the faithful carrying out of which the honor of the Allied -peoples depends.” - -This communication was proposed by Mrs. Philip Snowden of England and -seconded by Miss Jeanette Rankin of the United States. - -Another resolution protested against the prolongation of the blockade as -bringing starvation and death to innumerable innocent women and children -of the Central Powers. It also urged that all resources of the world, -food, raw materials, finance, transport should be organized immediately -for the relief of the peoples, in order to serve humanity and bring -about the reconciliation and union of the peoples. A third resolution -demanded representation in the League of Nations for women, and that -Miss Addams be the first woman representative. At its concluding session -the Congress voted unanimously to call a world-wide strike of women in -the event another war be declared, even if such a war should be -sanctioned by the League of Nations. - -[Illustration] - - - WOMAN TRIUMPHANT. - -The wonderful spirit displayed by many millions of women during the -World War gave foundation to the hope that universal suffrage would be -an inevitable result of the war, and that the law-makers of all the -belligerent countries would no longer deny this crowning privilege to -those mothers, wives, and sisters, who had worked so nobly, suffered so -keenly, and endured so patiently through the long years of this cruel -catastrophe. In a large number of countries this expectation has been -verified. To name them in chronological order, we begin with neutral -=Denmark=, which in 1915 granted to her women full parliamentary -suffrage and eligibility. Nine women were elected to Parliament. -=Iceland= extended to her women the same rights, and one woman was sent -to Parliament. - -The next country was =England=, for many years the storm center of the -suffrage movement. While in all other lands had been steps in evolution, -England was the scene of a revolution. Not one with guns, and powder and -bloodshed, but nevertheless with all other evidences of war. As Mrs. -Carrie Chapman Catt, President of the International Woman Suffrage -Alliance, graphically described, “there were brave generals and well -trained armies, and many a well-fought battle; there have been tactics -and strategies, sorties, sieges, and even prisoners of war, many of whom -had to be released as they went on a hunger-strike. But in time, by the -restless activity of the leaders, every class, including women of the -nobility, working girls, housewives and professional women, became -engaged in the campaign, and not a man, woman or child in England was -permitted to plead ignorance concerning the meaning of woman suffrage. -Together, men and women suffragists carried their appeal into the byways -and most hidden corners of the kingdom. They employed more original -methods, enlisted a larger number of women workers, and grasped the -situation in a bolder fashion than had been done elsewhere. In other -countries persuasion had been the chief, if not the only, weapon relied -upon; in England it was persuasion plus political methods. - -“First, the world expressed disgust at the alleged unfeminine conduct of -English suffragists. Editorial writers in many lands scourged the -suffrage workers of their respective countries over the shoulders of -these lively English militants. But time passed; comment ceased; and the -world, which had ridiculed, watched the contest in silence, but with -never an eye closed. It assumed the attitude of the referee who realizes -he is watching a cleverly played game, with the chances hanging in the -balance. Then came a laugh. The dispatches flashed the news to the -remotest corners of the globe that English Cabinet Ministers were -“protected” in the street by bodyguards; the houses of Cabinet Ministers -were “protected” by relays of police, and even the great Houses of -Parliament were “protected” by a powerful cordon of police. Protected! -and from what? The embarrassing attack of unarmed women! In other lands -police have protected emperors, czars, kings and presidents from the -assaults of hidden foes, whose aim has been to kill. That there has been -such need is tragic; and when, in contrast, the vision was presented of -the Premier of England hiding behind locked doors, skulking along side -streets, and guarded everywhere by officers, lest an encounter with a -feminine interrogation point should put him to rout, it proved too much -for the ordinary sense of humor. - -“Again, the dispatches presented another view. Behold, they said, the -magnificent and world-renowned House of Parliament surrounded by police, -and every woman approaching that sacred precinct, halted, examined, and -perhaps arrested! Behold all this elaborate precaution to save members -of Parliament from inopportune tidings that women would have votes; yet, -despite it all, the forbidden message is delivered, for over the Houses -floats conspicuously and defiantly a huge “Votes for Women” kite. -Perhaps England did not know the big world laughed then; but the world -did laugh, and more, from that moment it conceded the victory to the -suffragists. The only question remaining unanswered, was: ‘How will the -Government surrender, and at the same time preserve its dignity and -consistency?’” - -Surrender came when in January, 1917, the Lower House of Commons adopted -a resolution favoring a bill making women eligible as members of -Parliament. - -The bill was discussed again in October, 1918, and a vote of 274 to 25 -on October 24th gave women the right to sit as members of Parliament. - -Voting in the general elections on December 14th, 1918, for the first -time, the British women enjoyed at last the victory for which they -bravely fought. While they did not succeed to elect one of their women -candidates for a seat in the Parliament, the election was nevertheless -one of the most notable in years. Nearly in all districts the women -voters made a satisfactory showing as compared to that of men. In -=Ireland= one woman, Countess =Georgina Markievicz=, an Irish by birth -and the leading female figure in the Sinn Fein movement, was elected to -the House of Commons, the first woman ever sent to this body. - -=Canada= likewise granted full suffrage to women. A bill passed the -third reading on May 3d and received Royal Assent May 23d, 1918. - -In =Nova Scotia= a bill was passed April 26th, 1919. - -In =South Africa= Parliament accepted a Woman Suffrage Bill on April -1st, 1919, by 44 votes to 42. - -When the revolution came in =Russia=, equal suffrage for women was -accepted by the men of all parties without opposition. It has had, as -Catherine Breshkovsky, the “Grandmother of the Russian Revolution,” -explained, “a profound effect upon the minds of the peasant women. They -used to be often beaten by their husbands. Now the idea of freedom and -equal rights has taken firmer root among them. Instead of submitting to -beatings from her husband the sturdy peasant woman defends herself, and -sometimes she even beats him, especially if he is drunk. The fact that -during the war the women have had to do every kind of work has also -contributed to this sense of independence.” - -When in November, 1918, the =German Republic= was declared, paragraph 31 -of the Constitution provided that the representatives of the people be -elected by all men as well as women over twenty years, and that women -are eligible for all Federal and State Legislatures and municipal -bodies. Under this regulation on January 19th, 1919, 36 women were -elected to the Federal Parliament, and 22 to State Legislatures. Among -the women elected to the Parliament were several of the most prominent -leaders of the suffrage movement in Germany: =Dr. Gertrud Bäumer=, =Dr. -Käthe Schirmacher=, and =Dr. Alice Salomon=. - -In =Austria= the downfall of the monarchy nullified the law which -forbade women to take part in political societies. The 12th of November, -1918, brought to the women universal, equal, direct, and secret suffrage -and eligibility with the announcement of the republic. Seven women were -elected, among them the well-known suffragist =Adelheid Popp=, who was -also elected to the Vienna Municipal Council. - -The Government of the =Hungarian Republic= likewise adopted a suffrage -law which gives the vote to all men of 21 and to women of 24 if they can -read and write. While this is not equality of the sexes yet, the -government gave at the same time evidence of its profound respect for -the abilities of women by taking one of the most important steps in the -history of woman’s progress. It appointed =Miss Rose Bédy Schwimmer=, -highly respected for her activity and literary works on suffrage and -peace, as ambassador extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to -Switzerland. But the conservative members of the Federal Council of that -country refused to accept a woman ambassador, and so Miss Bédy Schwimmer -found it advisable to tender her resignation, a month after having -accepted her difficult task. - -The new republic =Czecho-Slovakia= as well as the newly reconstituted -state of =Poland= at once conceded full political citizenship to their -women. In Czecho-Slovakia eight, and in Poland five women were elected -to the Parliaments. - -In =Sweden= full suffrage was accorded to women May 28th, 1919, when a -bill was passed by large majorities in both houses of the National -Parliament, according to which every subject, man or woman, who has -attained his or her twenty-third year, is qualified to vote. - -In =France= the “Union Française pour le Suffrage des Femmes” sent on -January 24th, 1919, a proclamation to the Parliament demanding that -French women be given the franchise. The proclamation pointed to the -fact that the right to vote had been recognized in enemy and allied -countries and that therefore France should not be backward. But in spite -of this on April 4th two women suffrage amendments to the Electoral -Reform Bill were killed in the Chamber of Deputies. The provision making -women eligible for election to the Chamber was defeated, 302 votes to -187. The vote against transmission of the right to vote to the next of -kin of heads of families, without distinction of sex, was defeated 335 -to 134. But on May 20th the Chamber of Deputies adopted a bill granting -women the right to vote in all elections for members of the Communal and -Departmental Assemblies. The vote was 377 to 97. The measure then went -to the Senate. - -=Switzerland=, with the European spread of woman suffrage all around, -may be expected to soon respond to the wave of democratic sentiment. On -January 22, 1919, the delegates of the Swiss Union of Women’s Clubs -adopted a resolution to request the Federal Council to order a radical -revision of the Constitution, and grant to women equal political rights -with men. On March 17th, the Grand Council of the Canton of Neuchâtel -declared for the principle of Woman Suffrage, and likewise instructed -the Government to prepare a suffrage bill. If passed this bill will -probably be decided by referendum. - -The =Belgian= Chamber of Deputies, by unanimous vote, adopted on April -11th, 1919, an Electoral Reform Bill, under the terms of which the right -to vote is limited to widows who have not remarried, to the mothers of -soldiers killed in battle and to the mothers of civilians shot by the -enemy. - -In =Holland= the first Chamber of the Dutch Parliament adopted on July -12th, 1919, a motion to introduce woman suffrage by a vote of 34 to 5. - -In the United States of America the Western States have, as pointed out -in a former chapter, never hesitated to acknowledge the rights of women -to vote. But the Southern and Eastern States had remained reluctant in -granting this privilege. And so the suffragists were compelled to -conquer these regions step by step. The women of New York won full -suffrage in 1917, those of South Dakota, Michigan and Oklahoma in 1918. -Presidential suffrage was secured in 1917 in North Dakota, Nebraska, and -Rhode Island, and in 1919 in Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, -Missouri and Maine. - -For many years efforts had also been made by the friends of Woman -Suffrage to induce Congress to act on the so-called “Susan Anthony -Amendments to the Constitution,” reading as follows: - -“Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not -be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of -sex. - -“Section 2. The Congress shall have power by appropriate legislation to -enforce the provisions of this article.” - -In 1914 the Senate again voted these amendments down by 11 votes. Again, -in September, 1918, it was rejected by two votes, and again in February, -1919, by one vote. The House voted upon the resolution three times, -rejecting it in 1915 by 78 votes, passing it in 1918 by a margin of one -vote, and again, on May 21st, 1919, by a vote of 304 to 89. The fight -ended on June 4, 1919, when the Senate adopted the resolution by a vote -of 56 to 25. - -“The credit of having won this victory,” so the “New York American” said -in an editorial, “belongs chiefly to the resourceful women of the land -who have, for generations, been pushing this issue to the front in spite -of stupid opposition and almost as stupid indifference. - -“Liberal-minded men, a few in the early days, many more recently, have -helped. But, primarily, it is a woman’s victory, and no man will -begrudge the acknowledment. Equal partners in the economic and social -life of the nation, American women will now be equal sharers in its -political life and in the responsibilities which this will involve. - -“The joy of triumph will be of brief duration. The period of -responsibility will be long and trying. But the women of America will -certainly meet it equally with the men, and if they do that the men will -have no just basis of complaint. Political rule by men has been full of -blunders. Women, too, will blunder, but they will not be likely to make -the same kind of blunders that men make. The blunders that men make will -tend to be corrected by the superior insight and intuition of women; and -probably in time the blunders to which women will be prone will have -counteraction by the men. So instead of the blundering being increased -by the widened circle of electoral responsibility it is more likely to -be lessened, for the cure for the ills of democracy is always more -democracy. - -“Anyhow, the change is here. It is world-wide. It comes as a resultant -of increased freedom and it presages more freedom.” - - - WOMAN’S MISSION IN THE FUTURE. - -As woman now is man’s equal partner, she must share in the difficult -task of solving the many problems connected with the economic, social -and political life of that nation to which she belongs. That she will -assume this obligation, fully aware of its significance, cannot be -doubted; we need only recall the noble spirit, enthusiasm, intelligence -and perseverance which have distinguished all the leaders in the great -movement for woman’s emancipation. - -Woman’s mission in the future will be many-sided. Paramount among all -questions, that demand her utmost consideration, is the prevention of -future wars. And it may be said right here that mankind, through the -efforts of women, will most probably find the final realization of hopes -cherished for centuries by all right-minded people. We hardly need point -to the glaring contrasts between the Peace Congresses called together by -women at the Hague and in Zurich, and the conferences held by men at -Versailles to secure a League of Nations. While the former meetings were -distinguished by the perfect harmony and cordiality among the delegates -of all belligerent and neutral nations, and while their resolutions -expressed the good will and lofty disinterestedness of all members, the -wearisome discussions at Versailles were characterized by suspicion, -avarice and merciless extortion. The “Allies” no longer spoke for a -common cause, but were rivals over the spoils of war. Each clamored for -an individual gain. And instead of extending brotherly hands to the -conquered enemy, instead of instilling hope in the hearts of the -desperate, and instead of feeding the starving, they increased the -bitterness and sufferings by an unwarranted and cruel blockade, through -which more than a million innocent children and women were condemned to -agony and death. - -Many far-seeing men have expressed grave doubts that the “Covenant of -Peace” and the “League of Nations” can prevent future wars. So we hope -that women, who would again become the greatest sufferers through such a -catastrophe, will continue in their efforts to re-establish -international good will and solidarity. Deep abysses of antagonism must -be bridged; hate and the thirst for revenge must be quenched, and -thousands of smarting wounds must be healed before humanity can hope for -a better future. But women can perform these wonders. Since the -organization of the “International Woman’s Peace Party” the voice of -women will be heard in the council of nations, and their influence will -be mighty, for the women outnumber the men. - -Most naturally the demands of women will also be directed to an -international regulation of women’s relations to men, which in most -countries are far from satisfactory. The World War has emphasized the -fact that in almost all countries women, on marrying foreigners, forfeit -their own nationality and are compelled to adopt that of their husbands. -Thus it happened in 1914 that many French and English women, having -married Germans or Austrians, residents or citizens in France or -England, were deported from their native countries, at the same time -losing all personal property that they were unable to take with them. - -Under the laws of the United States a loyal American woman, who marries -an alien enemy, becomes herself an alien enemy, while a woman enemy -alien who marries an American becomes herself a loyal American. By -allowing the woman no choice of allegiance this law works injustice both -to her and to the country. - -An international agreement has been proposed that women shall not be -deprived of their own nationality against their will, irrespective of -marriage, and, when deported into enemy territory, shall be restored to -their own country.— - -Full equality between husband and wife, father and mother is also -desired in regard to property and responsibilities, especially parental. -In some countries, as for instance in Great Britain, under the existing -laws only the father is recognized as the guardian of the children. He -is the sole judge of what shall be their maintenance and education; and -he has, prima facie, the sole right to their custody. - -Another important question which demands regulation through -international agreement, is the suppression of the White Slave Trade, -that horrible evil, which under the imperfect conditions of civilization -has assumed such amazing proportions. To abolish it, women have -presented to the League of Nations Commission resolutions saying, that -States who enter into the League shall undertake to suppress the sale of -women and children and to punish severely the traffic in women, whether -under or over age, and of children of both sexes, for the purposes of -prostitution.— - -The suppression of tuberculosis, of syphilis and other venereal diseases -is likewise a serious problem calling for international regulation. The -energetic co-operation of women is of utmost importance, as far too -often innocent women become sufferers from these horrible diseases -through infection from their unscrupulous husbands, who have concealed -from their wives the fact that they were afflicted with such maladies. - -The supervision of such diseases by health officers, and the provision -of clinics for all infected persons will be demanded by woman -legislators; likewise penalizing for infecting with venereal diseases. - -While in most countries no questions are asked in regard to the health -of the candidates for marriage, it has been through the activity of -women, that the new marriage law that came into force in Norway on -January 1st, 1919, demands that both candidates must declare in writing -that they are not suffering from epilepsy, leprosy, syphilis, -tuberculosis, or other diseases in an infectious form. Written -declarations must also be given as to previous marriages and to children -born to them out of wedlock. As this new marriage law contains not less -than eighty-one sections, it is evident that henceforth in Norway it -will be difficult to marry in haste. - -Such laws for the protection of women are nowhere more needed than in -the forty-eight States which together form the American Union. As -everyone of these States makes its own laws, there exists a variety of -laws in regard to the “age of consent,” to marriage and divorce, far too -intricate for any woman or lawyer to be thoroughly informed about them -all. For instance the legislators of Florida have fixed the “age of -consent” at 10 years (!), documenting herewith their utter ignorance in -such a serious question. In other States it is 12 or 14 years, in -Wyoming it is 18. How competent women think about this subject, may be -judged by a resolution of the “Woman’s Political Association of -Australia,” asking the Government to raise the age of consent to 21 -years, and to extend this provision to cover girls as well as boys. - -Very heterogeneous are also the marriage laws of the United States. In -Tennessee girls may marry without their parents’ consent when only -twelve years old, while in other states they must not do so before -eighteen, or even twenty-one. Missouri is one of the few states which -still recognize common law marriages. As this state sets no minimum -legal age for marriage, a boy or girl of twelve may without their -parents’ consent live together as man and wife. - -Still more perplexing is the diversity in regard to the causes for -absolute divorce. While South Carolina grants no divorce, other states -are very liberal and acknowledge eight or ten different reasons as -sufficient reasons for divorce. Marriages between Whites and Indians, or -between Whites and Negroes or persons of negro descent, or between -Whites and Chinese are prohibited and punishable in a number of states, -while they are allowed in others. - -Improvement in the status of the illegitimate child; child-labor and -welfare; woman’s status in industries; mothers’ insurance during -maternity; proper insurance for the invalid and aged; combating of -alcoholism; the suppression of the traffic in opium and other injurious -narcotics; the traffic in arms, especially with uncivilized or -semi-civilized tribes and nations, and many other questions call for -international regulation and the co-operation of women. To compare the -laws of the various countries and to select the best and clearest laws -to be used as a standard to which other states should be urged to raise -their legislation, will be one of the great missions for the women -lawyers connected with the various national leagues of women voters. - -That women have the ability as well as the hearty desire to contribute -in this way to the progress and welfare of the human race, needs no -further explanation. It is for the men to accept and encourage their -help and to utilize it to the fullest extent. The beneficial result of -such co-operation can not be doubted. Women with their intuitive -judgment, spiritual insight and knowledge of the needs of women, -children, public education, sanitation, philanthropy, etc., will become -a most important factor in the vast task of human betterment. And man, -working with woman side by side in these noble endeavors, will not only -profit, but learn that nature has given him nothing more sublime than -woman. - -[Illustration] - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - Women During the Remote Past. - Primeval Man, His Origin and Severe Struggle for Existence 7 - The Division of Labor and Responsibilities 14 - Women as Objects or Rape, Barter and Religious Sacrifice 22 - - Women During the Ages of Antiquity. - Women in Babylonia 29 - Woman’s Status Among the Hebrews 36 - Woman’s Status Among the Parsee and Hindoo 39 - Woman in China and Japan 43 - Woman Among the Egyptians 46 - Woman Among the Greeks 50 - Woman Among the Romans 56 - Woman’s Position Among the Germanic Nations 65 - Woman Among the Early Christians 70 - Woman Among the Mohammedans 74 - - Women During the Middle Ages. - Women During the Middle Ages 81 - The Glorious Time of the Renaissance 93 - The Darkest Chapter in Woman’s History 98 - - Women in Modern Times. - Women in Slavery 113 - The Dawning of Brighter Days 130 - Pioneer Women in the New World 140 - Women of the French Revolution 152 - Woman’s Entry Into Industry 159 - Women as Ministers of the Gospel 184 - Women in the Medical Profession 187 - Woman in the Profession of the Law 192 - Women as Inventors 195 - Eminent Female Scientists 197 - Noteworthy Women in World Literature 207 - Women in Music and Drama 227 - What Women Have Accomplished in Art 232 - Great Monuments of Woman’s Philanthropy 241 - The Hundred Years’ Battle for Woman Suffrage 247 - Why Women Want and Need the Vote 258 - Woman’s Activity During the World War 271 - Woman Triumphant 292 - Woman’s Mission in the Future 297 - - - - - OUR WASTEFUL NATION - - -The Story of American Prodigality and the Abuse of our National -Resources. - - By RUDOLF CRONAU. - - - CONTENTS. - - The Land of Inexhaustible Resources—The Destruction of Our Forests—The - Waste of Water—The Waste of Soil—The Waste of Our Mineral - Resources—The Extermination of Our Game, Fur, and Great Marine - Animals—Our Vanishing Birds—Our Decreasing Fish Supplies—The Waste - of Public Lands and Privileges—The Waste of Public Money and of - Property—The Waste of Human Lives—Conclusion. - -One of the weightiest problems before the American nation is here -treated in a most impressive manner. Based upon cold facts, the book -shows conclusively that our nation suffers, by sheer carelessness and -wasteful methods, losses amounting to many hundred millions of dollars -annually. - - -“The book tells a story that is astounding. Some of the descriptions of -the past are told in figures so great as to be beyond our -comprehension.” - - —_Word To-Day_, Chicago. - -“This volume should be read, pondered and re-read by every individual in -America who has reached the age of reasoning.” - - —_Union_, New Haven. - -“The book is a practical little sermon, much needed in this period.” - - —_San Francisco Chronicle._ - -“There are but 134 pages in this book, but within the limited compass -there is set forth the most terrific impeachment that was ever laid to -the charge of a nation. This little volume should be scattered over the -country in tens of thousands.” - - —_Boston Herald._ - -“It is a book, that every person should be compelled to learn by heart.” - - —_Chicago Daily News._ - - - At all Booksellers, or from Author, 340 E. 198 St., New York, sent - postpaid on receipt of price. - - WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BOARDS. $1.00 NET - -[Illustration: OUR WASTEFUL NATION _by Rudolf Cronau_] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. - 2. Anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as - printed. - 3. Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers. - 4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - 5. Enclosed bold font in =equals=. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Woman Triumphant, by R. 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